NAIA XC Championships Saturday at the 'Fort'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 2009 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships are scheduled for this Saturday in Vancouver, Wash. The event will take place at the Fort Vancouver National Historical Site and hosted by the Cascade Collegiate Conference and Concordia (Ore.) University. This marks the first year for the event in Vancouver -- Kenosha, Wis., was the site for the Championships the previous two years.
The NAIA Cross Country National Championships are free and open to the public. The men’s race begins at 10:30 a.m. PST, and the women's race starts at approximately 11:45 a.m. PST. Fort Vancouver Historical Site, located near Portland, Ore., is a unique, historic and challenging competition venue that boasts a successful record for hosting world class cross country championship events, including USA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships and World Cross Country Trials.
Thirty-two women’s teams, including 23 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, two conference runners-up, six at-large bids, one host berth and 117 individual qualifiers, will run in the 5K race. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) captured its first women's cross country title a year. Armed as the top-ranked team, the Cougars will look to junior Jacky Kipwambok, who finished second at the national meet a year ago.
The men's 8K race will also welcome 32 teams, including 22 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, eight at-large bids, one conference runner-up, one host berth and 102 individual qualifiers. Malone (Ohio) will look to claim its third-consecutive men's national title. The past two seasons the Pioneers have won by a margin of 57 and 143 points, respectively. Malone is led by junior All-American Aaron Melhorn, who took fifth last year at the National Championships.
Other cities that have hosted the NAIA Cross Country National Championships include: Kenosha, Wis.; Omaha, Neb.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Liberty, Mo.; and Salina, Kan. The NAIA has conducted the men's championship since the inaugural 1955 race in Salina, Kan. The women began the Championship event in 1980 in Salina.
Fans attending the National Championships are encouraged to park in designated areas along Fifth Street (south side of the park).