Field Set for NAIA XC Meet at Fort Vancouver
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released the qualifiers for the 54th Annual Men's and 30th Annual Women's NAIA Cross Country National Championships. The national races will be held at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 21. The men's 8K will start at 10:30 a.m. PST, with the women's 5K to follow at 11:45 a.m. PST.
The men's 8K race will welcome 32 teams, including 23 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, eight at-large bids 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 57 and 143 points, respectively.
Southern Oregon University of the Cascade Collegiate Conference enters the meet as the nation's top-ranked team. Other CCC teams in the field include No. 8 College of Idaho, No. 18 Eastern Oregon and No. 24 Concordia. Four individuals qualified from the CCC – Oregon Tech’s Korey Humberston, Warner Pacific’s Karim Shakalia, Evergreen’s Brian Rakestraw, and Northwest Christian’s Samuel Robison.
Thirty-two teams, including 25 conference/independent/unaffiliated champions, six at-large bids and 117 individual qualifiers, will run in the women's 5K.
The CCC will be represented by two teams in the women’s field – No. 6 College of Idaho and No. 22 Concordia. In addition, five individuals from the CCC qualified – Karlee Coffey of Eastern Oregon, Seena Frantz of Southern Oregon, Kayla Perry of Warner Pacific, Stephanie Hescock of Northwest Christian, and Alma Garcilazo of Eastern Oregon.
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.
Women's Team and Individual National Qualifiers
Men's Team and Individual National Qualifiers