Photo by: Timothy Hughes
Women Qualify to NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/16/2019 3:59:00 PM | Cross Country
Air Force qualified as a team for the second time in the Academy's DI history.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The 15th-ranked Air Force women's cross country team earned an at-large bid into next week's NCAA Cross Country Championships, the selection committee officially announced this afternoon (Nov. 16) – marking the second time in Division I history that the women have qualified a full team to the national meet.
The women, who previously competed as a squad at the 2016 championships, earned a trip to the 2019 meet after claiming an impressive third-place finish at yesterday's Mountain Regional – bettering a pair of top-10 teams. Juniors Maria Mettler (eighth) and Mahala Norris (10th) paced the squad with top-10 individuals finishes, while all five scoring runners – senior Teri Brady (28th), sophomore Mikayla Gallagher (29th) and senior Lindsey Blanks (32nd) – placed among the top of the 130-runner regional race.
Air Force has now been represented in the women's national race during each of the last five years – after having just one DI appearance in the previous 18 years.
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. 23) on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The women, who previously competed as a squad at the 2016 championships, earned a trip to the 2019 meet after claiming an impressive third-place finish at yesterday's Mountain Regional – bettering a pair of top-10 teams. Juniors Maria Mettler (eighth) and Mahala Norris (10th) paced the squad with top-10 individuals finishes, while all five scoring runners – senior Teri Brady (28th), sophomore Mikayla Gallagher (29th) and senior Lindsey Blanks (32nd) – placed among the top of the 130-runner regional race.
Air Force has now been represented in the women's national race during each of the last five years – after having just one DI appearance in the previous 18 years.
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. 23) on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Players Mentioned
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