Vikings' men's squad & Saint Martin's Alauna Carstens officially named to NCAA D2 XC field...

INDIANAPOLIS--The NCAA Monday announced its list of qualifying teams and individuals to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on December 2nd at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place.

Thirty-four teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 24 teams. Ten additional teams were selected at-large. A minimum of 24 additional individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.

The 17th ranked Western Washington men's team earned an automatic qualifying berth last Saturday at the West Regionals in Billings, Montana, when the Vikings finished second behind Chico State.

The Simon Fraser men's squad, which finished fourth at regionals, was the only other team from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to get a spot in the national championship meet as an at-large selection.

Saint Martin's Alauna Carstens (Paul Merca photo), who finished seventh at the West Regionals, earned a spot on the line as an at-large individual selection.  The last time the Saints qualified an individual for the national championships was in 2016 when Shannon Porter raced her way to an All-American spot when she finished 24th.

Carstens is one of five individuals from the West Region to advance to the national championships.

The NCAA Division II cross country championships on December 2nd will start with the men's 10k race at 10 am Pacific, with the women's 6k following at 11:15 am.  Admission to the championships are free; however, there will be a $10 parking fee at Chambers Creek.

The NCAA release is available here.

NOTE: The NCAA contributed to this report.

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