Eastern Michigan Athletics
Men's Cross Country Selected for NCAA Championships
11/14/2005 1:22:48 PM | Men's XC
Eagles receive team at-large bid for the championships, Nov. 21, at Terre Haute, Ind.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.
- - The Eastern Michigan University men’s cross country team, fresh off a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships (Nov. 12), has been selected as one of 13 at-large team to compete in the NCAA National Championship meet set for Monday, Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Ind. The championships will mark the sixth consecutive year that EMU will be represented as a team or with individual competitors."I felt that the team was physically and mentally improving, literally every week of the season," EMU Head Coach John Goodridge said of his team’s performances this season. "Our strong regional finish positioned us for the at-large selection. We are very excited to be among the 31 teams in the championships."
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee has announced the 31-team field that will compete in the 2005 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, Nov. 21, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, Terre Haute, Indiana. The top two teams from nine regionals are automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large teams were then chosen to round out the field. EMU is the lone Mid-American Conference team to qualify.
The 2005 Eagles enjoyed an outstanding season which included winning team titles at the Penn State Nationals and the Mid-American Conference while also finishing second at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational.
Leading the Eagles all season has been junior Corey Nowitzke (Jr.-R.-Monroe, Mich.-Monroe) who won the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 16), finished second at the MAC Championships, was fourth at the Loyola Lakefront, finished fifth at the PSU National, and was 14th individually at last weekend’s NCAA Regional Championships.
Other top competitors for the Eagles have been Josh Karanja (Fr.-R.-Ottawa, Ontario, Canada-Nepean), Neal Naughton (Fr.-R.-Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Western), Josh Perrin (Fr.-R.-Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale), Alan Walker (Jr.-R.-Phoeniz, Ariz.-Greenway), Kyle Mena (Fr.-R.-Portage, Mich.-Northern) 61st in 32:59.8; David Brent (Fr.-Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary’s Catholic Central), and Tom Clifford (Grand Rapids, Mich.-West Catholic).
2005 NCAA Men’s Country Championship Team Qualifiers
Automatic Qualifiers (Top 2 from each Regional)
American
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Dartmouth
Florida State
Georgetown
Iona
Iowa
Notre Dame
Oklahoma State
Stanford
Texas
UTEP
Virginia
William and Mary
Wisconsin
At-Large Qualifiers
Arizona State
Brigham Young
Butler
Eastern Michigan
Florida
Indiana
Kansas
Loyola (Illinois)
Minnesota
Ohio State
Portland
Tennessee
Washington
