KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 36 teams, 98 individuals in the championship field have been announced for the 41st Annual NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Championship that will be held on April 9. The event will take place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
After winning its second-straight Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, No. 2-ranked College of Idaho grabbed the CCC’s automatic qualifier. Three other teams will join the Coyotes in Idaho, with No. 9-ranked Lewis-Clark State College, No. 12-ranked Oregon Tech, and No. 22-ranked Northwest University all grabbing at-large berths.
Additionally, four CCC individual student-athletes qualified for the event, including Corban University’s Gracie Long, Eastern Oregon University’s Michelle Herbes, Multnomah University’s Shiloh Najjar, and Bushnell University’s Tea Chatelain.
NAIA Championship Meet Notes
- This is the second year that the championship will be hosted in Cedar Rapids. Mount Mercy University (Iowa) serves as the host for the national championship.
- The field is made up of 27 automatic qualifiers, one host berth and 8 at-large berths. A team can automatically qualify by winning the conference championship meet or by being the meet runner-up (for a conference with more than one automatic qualifier).
- Mount Mercy (Iowa) received the host berth.
- The 8 at-large berths were determined by a selection committee.
- In addition to the team qualifiers and at-large bids, 98 athletes will compete as individual qualifiers.
- The race will be broadcast for the first time this year on the NAIA Network. To access the live video stream and purchase a pass CLICK HERE