Vikings, plus Annika Esvelt, Ramon Rodriguez, & Johan Correa confirmed by NCAA for D2 nationals...

INDIANAPOLIS--After the conclusion of regional championships around the country, the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Committee announced Monday the participants for the 2024 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships on November 23rd at the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, California.

The men's 10k race begins at 10 am Pacific, followed by the women's 6k at 11:15 am Pacific.

Both Western Washington squads (photo courtesy WWU Athletics) earned their spots by finishing second at the West regionals in Billings, Montana Saturday as one of three automatic team qualifiers.

Three runners from Washington schools earned spots in the national championships as individual qualifiers.

On the women's side, Seattle Pacific track All-American Annika Esvelt (Paul Merca photo) was one of five from the West region earning selection, based on her sixth place finish, running 20:48.

Esvelt was the top individual in the race not on a qualifying team.

For all her accomplishments on the track, this marks Esvelt's first appearance at the NCAA cross country championships.

In the men's 10k race, Central Washington's Ramon Rodriguez and Johan Correa finished together in fifth and sixth places in identical times of 30:36. They were the first two runners across the line not on a qualifying team.

The NCAA championships marks Correa's second appearance in the meet. Last year, Correa earned All-America honors with his 17th place finish to become Central Washington's first D2 All-American,

Rodriguez, a junior from Spain, was the GNAC Newcomer of the Year after his third place finish in the conference championship meet in Bellingham on October 26th.

A live webstream of the championships will occur on www.NCAA.com from 10:00 a.m. Pacific until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.  

The NCAA release is available here.

NOTE: The NCAA, and the sports information offices of Western Washington, Central Washington, and Seattle Pacific contributed to this report.

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