Justin Tyner Selected to NCAA Championships
11/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Nov. 15, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Air Force junior Justin Tyner (Baxter, Minn.) was officially selected to the 2009 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships this evening (Nov. 15), as the NCAA selection committee announced the field for the upcoming national meet. With the berth, Tyner is the first Air Force runner to compete at the NCAA Championships since Matt Williams in 2007.
Tyner earned an automatic selection to the national meet following a fifth-place finish at the Mountain Region Championships yesterday (Nov. 14) in a career-best 10,000-meter time of 30:29.5. The fifth-place finish at the regional meet tied for the best individual finish for an Air Force runner since Brian Dumm earned the same placement at the 2003 regional meet
Tyner has competed on the national championship course in Terre Haute, Ind., once already this season, placing 21st at the Pre-Nationals Meet in mid-October.
Air Force has sent full squads to the national meet 13 times, while being represented by individual runners an additional 11 years.
BYU and Colorado earned the automatic team selections from the Mountain Region, while New Mexico and Northern Arizona received at-large bids. The top four athletes from each region, who were not on an advancing team, also received an automatic berth to the national meet. Tyner (fifth) will be joined by Texas-El Paso's Nicodemus Ng'etich (17th) and Elkana Rotch (18th), as well as Utah State's Brian McKenna (19th).
In all, 31 teams and 38 individuals were selected to participate in both the men's and women's races. The 2009 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on Monday, Nov. 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. The men's race is scheduled for 12:08 p.m. (EST).
Players Mentioned
