NCAA Announces Cross Country Qualifiers

HADLEY, Mass. - The NCAA cross country championship committee has announced the at-large team selections and individual qualifiers for the 2011 national championship meet, which will be held at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. on Nov. 19.

The Middlebury and Williams men's and women's cross country teams automatically qualified for the championship by taking the top two spots at Saturday's regional race at Bowdoin. The Panther women took first over the Ephs, while Williams finished ahead of Middlebury in the men's 8-kilometer by one point.

The top five spots in the men's race all went to NESCAC teams, and all five will travel to Wisconsin this coming week after Bates, Bowdoin, and Tufts garnered an at-large bid to the meet. The host Polar Bears came in third, the Bobcats took fourth, just one point back, and the Jumbos earned fifth.

The Tufts women will be joining their male counterparts in Winneconne. Along with the Jumbos will be the Amherst women's squad. The Jeffs were fourth at the regional, just ahead of the fifth-place Jumbos.

Four individuals from the NESCAC have qualified to race among the field of 280 runners. Amherst's Andrew Erskine and Wesleyan's Bryan Marsh will compete in the men's 8-kilometer race. The Bowdoin tandem of Madelena Rizzo and Olivia MacKenzie have earned a spot in the women's 6-kilometer race.

During the 2010 NCAA Championship in Waverly, Iowa, Middlebury College won the women's national title with a score of 185, seven points ahead of Washington (Mo.). Williams was fifth in the women's championship, while Amherst was eighth. In the men's championship, Middlebury and Williams were the only two NESCAC teams to qualify for the race. The Ephs finished 18th (500) while the Panthers were 21st (520).

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is serving as the host institution for this year's championship.