Saturday, November 20
Tallahassee, FL
9:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
11th-Ranked Falcons Set for NCAA Championships
11/18/2021 1:47:00 PM | Cross Country
The men will race at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Tallahassee.
The 11th-ranked Air Force men's cross country team heads to Tallahassee, Fla., on Saturday (Nov. 20), for the 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
MEET INFORMATION
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee (7550 Apalachee Parkway). The women will kick off the day with their 6K championship at 10:20 a.m. (ET), while the men's 10K will follow at 11:10 a.m. Live results will be available via Prime Time Timing (a direct link is available on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com) and ESPNU will broadcast the meet in its entirety, beginning at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
SPECTATOR INFORMATION
General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Seminoles.com
WEATHER WATCH
The current forecast for Saturday in Tallahassee is partly sunny, with a high of 72 and a low of 47.
THE STARTING LINE
Luke Combs, Sam Gilman, Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson, AJ Kedge, Will Kitzhaber, Scott Maison, Sean Maison, and Ethan Marshall are scheduled to make the trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
The men will start in Box 13.
WHO'S WHO
Following nine regional meets on Nov. 13, a total of 255 runners (31 teams, 38 individuals) were selected to compete in each race at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each regional earned automatic bids into the national meet, while 13 teams earned at-large bids. The 38 individual runners were selected through an automatic and at-large process.
LET'S MEET THE MEN'S FIELD
The men's field includes nationally ranked squads from Northern Arizona (No. 1), BYU (2), Oklahoma State (3), Notre Dame (4), Colorado (5), Iowa State (6), Stanford (7), Wisconsin (8), Arkansas (9), Tulsa (10), Air Force (11), Washington (12), Texas (13), Michigan (14), Ole Miss (15), Princeton (16), Wake Forest (17-tie), Furman (17-tie), Syracuse (19), Oregon (20), Gonzaga (21), Portland (22), Alabama (23), Southern Utah (24), Harvard (25-tie), Georgetown (25-tie), Florida State (27-tie), Minnesota (27-tie), Butler (29), Michigan State (30), as well as North Carolina team that is receiving votes in the latest poll and individuals from Arkansas State, Boise State, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbia, Cornell, Drake, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iona, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee State, Montana State, NC State, New Mexico, Penn, Providence, Purdue, SE Louisiana, South Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State, Villanova, Washington State, and Weber State.
AIR FORCE ALL-AMERICANS
A total of 15 Falcons have captured All-America honors (19 occurrences) at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, while 14 women earned All-America status at the DII and AIAW meets (25 occurrences). The most recent Air Force All-American was Mahala Norris, who finished fourth at the delayed-2020 championship this past spring, while Mickey Davey was the last member of the men's team to capture the honor after finishing 18th at the 2017 meet.
MEN'S HISTORY 101
The 2021 season marks the 18th time that Air Force has sent a full men's squad to the NCAA Championships – and the 32nd time that the Academy has been represented in the championship field. The history book boasts the national champion in 1968 (Mike Ryan) and the top American finisher in 1995 (Eric Mack, third overall), as well as six top-10 finishers – including a runner-up placement by the 1967 squad.
DID YOU KNOW?
Six of the seven runners from last season's 19th-place team return for this championship lineup – Luke Combs, Sam Gilman, Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson, Will Kitzhaber, Scott Maison.
MEN ENTER CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RANKED 11TH IN NATIONAL STANDINGS
Air Force is ranked No. 11 in the final regular-season edition of the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, which was released on Nov. 15. It remains the program's second-highest national placement since 2003 and marked the 39th-straight poll where the men have been mentioned in the national conversation (either ranked or receiving votes) – a program-best streak that dates back to the start of the 2017 season.
MEET INFORMATION
The NCAA Cross Country Championships will be held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee (7550 Apalachee Parkway). The women will kick off the day with their 6K championship at 10:20 a.m. (ET), while the men's 10K will follow at 11:10 a.m. Live results will be available via Prime Time Timing (a direct link is available on the team's schedule page at GoAirForceFalcons.com) and ESPNU will broadcast the meet in its entirety, beginning at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
SPECTATOR INFORMATION
General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Seminoles.com
WEATHER WATCH
The current forecast for Saturday in Tallahassee is partly sunny, with a high of 72 and a low of 47.
THE STARTING LINE
Luke Combs, Sam Gilman, Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson, AJ Kedge, Will Kitzhaber, Scott Maison, Sean Maison, and Ethan Marshall are scheduled to make the trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
The men will start in Box 13.
WHO'S WHO
Following nine regional meets on Nov. 13, a total of 255 runners (31 teams, 38 individuals) were selected to compete in each race at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The top two teams from each regional earned automatic bids into the national meet, while 13 teams earned at-large bids. The 38 individual runners were selected through an automatic and at-large process.
LET'S MEET THE MEN'S FIELD
The men's field includes nationally ranked squads from Northern Arizona (No. 1), BYU (2), Oklahoma State (3), Notre Dame (4), Colorado (5), Iowa State (6), Stanford (7), Wisconsin (8), Arkansas (9), Tulsa (10), Air Force (11), Washington (12), Texas (13), Michigan (14), Ole Miss (15), Princeton (16), Wake Forest (17-tie), Furman (17-tie), Syracuse (19), Oregon (20), Gonzaga (21), Portland (22), Alabama (23), Southern Utah (24), Harvard (25-tie), Georgetown (25-tie), Florida State (27-tie), Minnesota (27-tie), Butler (29), Michigan State (30), as well as North Carolina team that is receiving votes in the latest poll and individuals from Arkansas State, Boise State, Campbell, Charleston Southern, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbia, Cornell, Drake, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iona, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee State, Montana State, NC State, New Mexico, Penn, Providence, Purdue, SE Louisiana, South Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State, Villanova, Washington State, and Weber State.
AIR FORCE ALL-AMERICANS
A total of 15 Falcons have captured All-America honors (19 occurrences) at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, while 14 women earned All-America status at the DII and AIAW meets (25 occurrences). The most recent Air Force All-American was Mahala Norris, who finished fourth at the delayed-2020 championship this past spring, while Mickey Davey was the last member of the men's team to capture the honor after finishing 18th at the 2017 meet.
MEN'S HISTORY 101
The 2021 season marks the 18th time that Air Force has sent a full men's squad to the NCAA Championships – and the 32nd time that the Academy has been represented in the championship field. The history book boasts the national champion in 1968 (Mike Ryan) and the top American finisher in 1995 (Eric Mack, third overall), as well as six top-10 finishers – including a runner-up placement by the 1967 squad.
DID YOU KNOW?
Six of the seven runners from last season's 19th-place team return for this championship lineup – Luke Combs, Sam Gilman, Ryan Ioanidis, Ryan Johnson, Will Kitzhaber, Scott Maison.
MEN ENTER CHAMPIONSHIP MEET RANKED 11TH IN NATIONAL STANDINGS
Air Force is ranked No. 11 in the final regular-season edition of the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, which was released on Nov. 15. It remains the program's second-highest national placement since 2003 and marked the 39th-straight poll where the men have been mentioned in the national conversation (either ranked or receiving votes) – a program-best streak that dates back to the start of the 2017 season.
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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