LCSC cross country teams receive national at-large berths

 11-06-07

Both the Lewis-Clark State College men’s and women’s cross country teams earned at-large berths to the NAIA Cross Country National Championships, which will be held Nov. 17 in Kenosha, Wis. 

This is the seventh consecutive trip to nationals for the Warrior women’s team, while the men will be making their second straight appearance.  

This year's men's 8 kilomter race will feature 28 teams, including 13 region champions and 15 at-large bids, and 67 individual qualifiers.  At-large bids are determined by the final NAIA poll, which came out this week. The Warrior men fell from No. 8 to No. 14 in the final poll, but LCSC was one of three Region I teams to earn at-large berths along with Eastern Oregon and the College of Idaho. Simon Fraser won the region race and earned the automatic berth from the region.

“Obviously we are pleased with our return to nationals for both teams this year,” LCSC coach Mike Collins says. “This is the second consecutive year for the men.  The previous experience should help, however, it will be muted a little since we are on a brand new course in Wisconsin this year and only three of my guys have run at nationals.  Right now our one goal is to finish higher than our ranking.” 

The Warrior women are among 29 teams and 67 individuals who will race in the 5-kilometer event. Simon Fraser, which won the Region I title, is the favorite to claim its fifth straight championship and its 10th overall.

The Warrior women are ranked No. 21 in the final poll, which is five spots down from the previous week. University of British Columbia and Eastern Oregon received at-large berths in Region I, while Albertson was just two spots away in the poll of making it to nationals. 

Collins thinks streak of national appearances by the Warrior women is the longest consecutive streak for any team in the Pacific Northwest.  

“Like the men, our first goal is to run better than our ranking,” Collins said.  “I think this will be the most competitive national championship race I will have seen since I started coaching.  Although it is a new course for the women, we have a lot more national experience than the men.  For the team, every single runner but one or two have run in a national championship meet and/or run on this course before. 

“We are very excited about the trip and hope we can go back and represent the college and community well.”