Nov. 16, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn men's cross country team will return to the NCAA Championships for the second time in as many years, the USTFCCCA announced late Sunday.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals qualified in their respective NCAA regions last Saturday.
Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large, a category that the Tigers fit into after finishing third as a team at the recent NCAA South Regional meet.
The Tigers are one of three SEC teams that qualified for the race, along with South Region Champion Alabama and South Central Region Champion Arkansas.
Last season, the Tigers finished fifth as a team, a mark that the Tigers will look to eclipse this year. Three runners, Felix Kiboiywo, Scott Novack and Jean-Pierre Weerts all ran at last season's race and will bring valuable experience to the fold.
Indiana State University will host the Championships, November 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. The men's race will begin at approximately 11:08 a.m. Central time, followed by the women's race at approximately 11:58 a.m. Both championship races will be broadcast live on Versus Network and streamed online via NCAA.com.