Cougar men's cross country team gets at-large invitation to compete at NCAA cross country champs...
Eighteen teams advanced to the field of 31 as automatic qualifiers, having finished in the top two at the nine regions. Another 13 at-large teams were selected from around the country based on wins and points scored against teams that reached automatic qualifying.
The Cougar men finished an impressive fourth at the NCAA West Regional Championships November 12 at Stanford, with Andrew Kimpel and Jono Lafler (left/photo by Paul Merca) taking 14th and 16th places respectively. WSU also captured a fifth-place finish at the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational September 30th, which played into the hands of the selection committee.
This is the first Pete Julian-coached Cougar team to advance to the national championships, in his three seasons directing the WSU program. Washington State and Cal Poly were at-large men's teams selected from the West Region with Stanford and Portland taking the automatic bids.
Washington State last appeared as a team in 2006, when the Cougars, then coached by Jason Drake, finished 29th at the national championships.
Former University of Washington runner Kendra Schaaf, now competing for North Carolina, was invited to compete in the national championships as an individual, as she won the NCAA Southeast Regional title on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, while her Tar Heel squad finished third, and did not earn an at large berth to Terre Haute.
The complete field for the NCAA championships in Terre Haute is available here.
NOTE: The NCAA and the Washington State University sports information department contributed to this report.
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