Northwest Wayne News

Wayne State University cross country athlete Reagan Justice placed 37th out of 261 participants at the 2024 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Sacramento, California. The event took place at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.

Justice completed the race with a time of 21:24.70, maintaining a pace of 5:45 per mile. She was the only representative for Wayne State and qualified automatically after securing third place at the NCAA Midwest Regional Race held in Romeoville, Illinois, on November 9, 2024. This year's finish marks her best performance in three appearances at the NCAA Championships and earned her All-American honors for the first time in her cross country career. Previously, she finished 75th in 2022 with a time of 21:47.30 and achieved a 93rd place finish in 2023 with a time of 21:31.70.

Justice concludes her cross country tenure with five race victories, four All-GLIAC recognitions (two first team and two second team), three All-Region awards, three NCAA Championship appearances, one All-American honor, and being named the team's Most Valuable Player following the 2023 season. She now looks forward to participating in both indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

Head Coach Grant Lofdahl commented on Justice's performance saying, "Reagan ran an incredibly gutsy race today. It didn't exactly go the way we drew it up, but things kind of worked out perfectly in the end." He noted that despite tough conditions due to a wet and swampy course, Justice managed to overcome challenges during the middle section of the race by finishing strong.

Lofdahl praised Justice's growth over the past year stating that she has shown significant personal development which was evident during this race. He remarked on her accomplishment as "the seventh All-American in Warrior women's cross country history" and highlighted that she is "the first one in ten years."