Jaci Smith, Men’s Team Qualify to NCAA Championships
11/10/2018 4:35:00 PM | Cross Country
It is the fourth straight year that Air Force has been represented in both races at the NCAA meet.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the fourth straight year, the Air Force cross country program will be represented in both the men's and women's races at the NCAA Division I National Cross Country Championships, as the 13th-ranked men's team and senior Jaci Smith were among the selection committee's official list of competitors to the national meet.
Smith earned her third trip to the national meet after finishing fourth at the NCAA Mountain Regional – and earning an automatic spot as the region's best finisher not on an advancing team. Smith, who has qualified as an individual during each of the last two years and ran on the 2016 team that advanced to the national meet, is the first Academy runner to make three trips to the national meet at the Division I level.
The 13th-ranked men received an at-large selection to the national meet after finishing seventh in a stacked field at the NCAA Mountain Regional. It is the second consecutive year that the Falcons have sent a full team to the NCAA Championships – and the seventh time in the last decade that Air Force has had at least one representative in the national meet.
Air Force was one of seven men's teams from the Mountain Region to qualify to the NCAA Championships.
In all, 31 teams were selected for their respective championship races today. The top two teams from each of yesterday's nine regional meets earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship meet, while 13 additional squads were chosen by an at-large selection process. The top four runners from each region that were not on an advancing team – and finished within the top 25 of the regional meet – also qualified to the national meet.
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held next Saturday (Nov. 17) at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
Smith earned her third trip to the national meet after finishing fourth at the NCAA Mountain Regional – and earning an automatic spot as the region's best finisher not on an advancing team. Smith, who has qualified as an individual during each of the last two years and ran on the 2016 team that advanced to the national meet, is the first Academy runner to make three trips to the national meet at the Division I level.
The 13th-ranked men received an at-large selection to the national meet after finishing seventh in a stacked field at the NCAA Mountain Regional. It is the second consecutive year that the Falcons have sent a full team to the NCAA Championships – and the seventh time in the last decade that Air Force has had at least one representative in the national meet.
Air Force was one of seven men's teams from the Mountain Region to qualify to the NCAA Championships.
In all, 31 teams were selected for their respective championship races today. The top two teams from each of yesterday's nine regional meets earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship meet, while 13 additional squads were chosen by an at-large selection process. The top four runners from each region that were not on an advancing team – and finished within the top 25 of the regional meet – also qualified to the national meet.
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held next Saturday (Nov. 17) at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
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/ Cross Country
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