By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2015 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships field has been announced, as 36 teams and 82 individuals will take on McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C., the national office announced Monday. The 36th annual event takes place on Nov. 21, with the women’s race scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EST.
• British Columbia looks to win its fourth-straight national title as the Thunderbirds earned an automatic qualifier (AQ) for winning the Association of Independent Institutions conference meet.
• This is the first time in NAIA Cross Country Championships history that the race will be held in Charlotte, N.C..
• Thirty-six teams and 82 individuals make up the field at the Championships. A team that wins its conference meet receives an AQ.
• Four conferences receive two AQs (Appalachian Athletic Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Heart of America Athletic Conference and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference). In addition to the meet champion, the meet runner-up also receives an automatic bid. The 12 at-large bids are determined by the final regular-season Top 25 Poll that can be seen by clicking
here.
• Only one team received an at-large bid that was not represented in the Top 25 – Siena Heights (Mich.).
• Twelve teams received an at-large bid – College of Idaho, Hastings (Neb.), Indiana Wesleyan, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Morningside (Iowa), Oregon Tech, Siena Heights (Mich.), Southern Oregon, Saint Xavier (Ill.), Texas Wesleyan, The Master’s (Calif.) and Westmont (Calif.).
• For more information about the conference championships, click
here.
• For all other information regarding the Women’s Cross Country National Championships, click
here.
• For the first time in the history of the NAIA, a post-race highlight show will be free to all fans through the NAIA Network. The event takes place on Nov. 21 in Charlotte, N.C., at McAlpine Creek Park for the first time. Fans will be able to view the show no later than noon CST on Sunday, Nov. 22.
2015 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships Qualifiers – Teams
| Aquinas (Mich.) |
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference |
| Benedictine (Kan.) |
Hearth of America Athletic Conference - Champion |
| Biola (Calif.) |
Golden State Athletic Conference - Champion |
| Carroll (Mont.) |
Frontier Conference - Champion |
| College of Idaho |
At-large No. 1 |
| Dalton State (Ga.) |
Southern States Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Dickinson State (N.D.) |
North Star Athletic Association - Champion |
| Dordt (Iowa) |
Great Plains Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
California Pacific Conference - Champion |
| Friends (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference - Champion |
| Hastings (Neb.) |
At-large No. 9 |
| Indiana Wesleyan |
At-large No. 2 |
| Lewis-Clark State |
At-large No. 5 |
| Milligan (Tenn.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Morningside (Iowa) |
At-large No. 7 |
| Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
Heart of America Athletic Conference – Runner-up |
| Northwest Christian (Ore.) |
Cascade Collegiate Conference – Champion |
| Oklahoma City |
Sooner Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Oregon Tech |
At-large No. 6 |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
Red River Athletic Conference – Champion |
| Point Park (Pa.) |
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Champion |
| SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
Appalachian Athletic Conference – Runner-up |
| SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
The Sun Conference – Champion |
| Shawnee State (Ohio) |
Mid-South Conference – Champion |
| Siena Heights (Mich.) |
At-large No. 12 |
| Southern Oregon |
At-large No. 8 |
| Southwestern (Kan.) |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference – Runner-up |
| St. Francis (Ill.) |
Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference – Runner-up |
| Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
At-large No. 11 |
| Taylor (Ind.) |
Crossroads League – Champion |
| Texas Wesleyan |
At-large No. 10 |
| The Master’s (Calif.) |
At-large No. 3 |
| British Columbia |
Association of Independent Institutions – Champion |
| Westmont (Calif.) |
At-large No. 4 |
| William Woods (Mo.) |
American Midwest Conference – Champion |
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2015 NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championships Qualifiers – Individuals
| American Midwest |
Kristen Garwood |
Hannibal-Lagrange (Mo.) |
| |
Emily Shultz |
Columbia (Mo.) |
| |
Sarah Pollmann |
St. Louis Pharmacy (Mo.) |
| |
Kaitlyn Winter |
Missouri Baptist (Mo.) |
| A.I.I. |
Samanatha Barela |
Johnson & Wales University (Colo.) |
| |
Jessica Faron |
Johnson & Wales University (Colo.) |
| |
Torri Holder |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
| |
Kayla Reed |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
| Appalachian |
Robbiccaa Williams |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
| |
Hannah Rhodes |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
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Leah Chance |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
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Rebecca Guadiana |
Point (Ga.) |
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Jessica Stockton |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
| |
Irene Requena |
Columbia (S.C.) |
| California Pacific |
Hanna Hermansson |
Marymount (Calif.) |
| |
Sofia Rios |
UC Merced |
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Lindsey Shoenhard |
Soka (Calif.) |
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Christina Boutin |
Soka (Calif.) |
| Cascade |
Lexi Mitzel |
Corban (Ore.) |
| |
Cassidy Brown |
Northwest (Wash.) |
| Chicagoland |
Ashely Jourdan |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) |
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Jessica Disselkoen |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) |
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Karyn Paisley |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
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Kyleigh Werner |
Purdue-North Central (Ind.) |
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Alena Pacheco |
Roosevelt (Ill.) |
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Keeley Knobloch |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
| Crossroads |
Ann Kuntz |
Marian (Ind.) |
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Katelyn McCullough |
Grace (Ind.) |
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Rachel Dever |
Marian (Ind.) |
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Aspen Dirr |
Huntington (Ind.) |
| Frontier |
Mindy Kaufman |
Montana-Western (Mont.) |
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Claudia Hewston |
Great Falls (Mont.) |
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Nicole Brist |
Great Falls (Mont.) |
| Golden State |
Keili Dorn |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
| Great Plains |
Marissa DeWispelare |
Doane (Neb.) |
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Mikayla Prouty |
Mount Marty (S.D.) |
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Kimberly Wood |
Concordia (Neb) |
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Emily Sievert |
Concordia (Neb.) |
| Heart of America |
Kaylee Shanley |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
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Emily Nealley |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
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Halley Dean |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
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Emily Perona |
Evangel (Mo.) |
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Sarah Hollis |
Baker (Kan.) |
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Lauren Block |
Clarke (Iowa) |
| Kansas Collegiate |
Jordan Calderwood |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
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Lindsey Meng |
St. Mary (Kan.) |
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Lorena Moreno |
St. Mary (Kan.) |
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Laura Gibson |
McPherson (Kan.) |
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Chrisholm Branscum |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
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Alisn Stevens |
St. Mary (Kan.) |
| Kentucky Intercollegiate |
Katy Falkenberg |
Asbury (Ky.) |
| |
Ivy Aleshire |
West Virginia Tech (W. Va.) |
| |
Lucy Williams |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
| |
Tayrn Thor |
Indiana Kokomo – (Ind.) |
| Mid-South |
Nikki Coffey |
Lindsey Willson (Ky.) |
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Maria Cozzens |
Lindsey Willson (Ky.) |
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Tayler Godar |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
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Madison Peace |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
| North Star |
Samantha VanHeuveln |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
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Sarah Gibson |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
| |
Jenna Coghlan |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
| |
Alexandra Cardenas |
Valley City State (N.D.) |
| Red River |
Candice Higgins |
Wiley (Texas) |
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Maureen Rono |
Wiley (Texas) |
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Iryine Chelangat |
Wiley (Texas) |
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Ethel Ajanga |
Wiley (Texas) |
| Sooner |
Destiny Garza |
Southwestern Assemblies (Texas) |
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Jackline Jemeli |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
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Sabrina Desantiago |
St. Gregory's (Okla.) |
| |
April Padilla |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
| Southern States |
Page Rowland |
Blue Mountain (Miss.) |
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HollyAnn Goble |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
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Breanna Snipes |
Blue Mountain (Miss.) |
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Jasmine Ray |
Brenau (Ga.) |
| The Sun |
Betsy Douglas |
South Carolina - Beaufort (S.C.) |
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Megan Fitzgerald |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
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Sydni Ogilvie |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
| |
Julia Kaster |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
| Wolverine-Hoosier |
Stephanie Johnston |
Concordia (Mich.) |
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Jessica Reagle |
Madonna (Mich.) |
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Kerigan Riley |
Indiana Tech |
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Joy Reist |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |