Washington men and Gonzaga's James Mwaura officially added to NCAA XC field...
In addition, Gonzaga’s James Mwaura (left/photo by Paul Merca), who finished third at Friday’s NCAA West Regional championship meet in Colfax, received an invitation to compete as an individual.
The Husky men, currently ranked number 14 in the latest USTFCCCA national D1 coaches' poll, join their female counterparts on the plane to Terre Haute, with the women’s team earning an automatic qualifying place on the starting line as a result of their second place finish behind Stanford Friday in Colfax.
Washington placed fourth as Andrew Jordan became the first Husky to win the men's West Regional title. Nine regionals produce 18 auto qualifying spots and then 13 at-large selections are made based on a combination of regular season success and regional finish. That makes the final field of 31 men's teams and 31 women's teams headed for NCAAs.
Washington is one of 20 programs to qualify both its men's and women's teams for the championships. The women have now qualified for 13 straight NCAA Championships and 21 of the past 23. The men are in for the fifth time in the past six years.
Mwaura, a sophomore from Tacoma’s Lincoln HS, is only the second Gonzaga men's runner to ever qualify for nationals.
The women's race will begin at 8:15 a.m. Pacific time, followed by the men's race at 9:15 a.m. Pacific time. Media partner Flotrack.org ($) will offer live streaming coverage of the NCAA cross country championships.
The NCAA release is available here.
NOTE: The NCAA and the sports information offices of Gonzaga University and the University of Washington contributed to this report.
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