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Photo by: Doug Hasz
No. 23 Gophers Earn NCAA At-Large Bid
11/10/2018 4:14:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Minnesota is one of 31 teams headed to the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championship next Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 23 Golden Gopher women's cross country team has received an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship, the NCAA announced Saturday during the inaugural NCAA Cross Country Selection Show. Minnesota is one of 13 at-large teams selected to compete at the national meet after finishing third at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday.
"It's awesome. I think this team deserves to be there. They have battled hard all year and proven that they are one of the top 31 teams in the country," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "The team is always the number one goal, and getting a team to the national meet is not an easy feat. Being one of only 31 teams out of 380 some odd Division I teams in the country is amazing.
"They deserve all the credit in the world for battling all year after losing a couple key pieces from last year and still being back in the mix."
The Gophers return to the national championship for the 13th time in the last 14 years after placing 19th last season.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis. The women's 6K will start at 10:45 a.m. CT and the men's 10K will begin at 11:45 a.m. CT. FloTrack will provide live coverage of the championships.
Bethany Hasz placed eighth and Megan Hasz came in 10th to lead Minnesota to a third-place finish at the Midwest Regional on Friday. Patty O'Brien was Minnesota's third runner, tying her career best with a time of 21:26.5 for 37th place overall. In their NCAA Midwest Regional debuts, Jaycie Thomsen (21:42.1) and Anastasia Korzenowski (21:45.2) rounded out the Gophers' top five in 63rd and 67th, respectively.
Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in the NCAA Championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large. Champion Iowa State and runner-up Oklahoma State earned the automatic bids from the Gophers' Midwest Regional.
Minnesota joins BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Penn State, Portland, Southern Utah, Stanford, and Washington as at-large women's team qualifiers.
Minnesota has made 23 team appearances at the NCAA Championship since 1974. The program's highest team finish came in 2005 when the Gophers placed ninth. All-Americans Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Emily Brown led Minnesota's efforts. The ninth-place showing was the first of five-straight top-12 finishes for the Gophers.
The Gophers' most recent All-American is Stephanie Price, who finished 31st in 2010. Minnesota's all-time highest individual finisher at the NCAA championships is Megan Duwell, who took eighth overall in 2009.
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"It's awesome. I think this team deserves to be there. They have battled hard all year and proven that they are one of the top 31 teams in the country," head coach Sarah Hopkins said. "The team is always the number one goal, and getting a team to the national meet is not an easy feat. Being one of only 31 teams out of 380 some odd Division I teams in the country is amazing.
"They deserve all the credit in the world for battling all year after losing a couple key pieces from last year and still being back in the mix."
The Gophers return to the national championship for the 13th time in the last 14 years after placing 19th last season.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis. The women's 6K will start at 10:45 a.m. CT and the men's 10K will begin at 11:45 a.m. CT. FloTrack will provide live coverage of the championships.
Bethany Hasz placed eighth and Megan Hasz came in 10th to lead Minnesota to a third-place finish at the Midwest Regional on Friday. Patty O'Brien was Minnesota's third runner, tying her career best with a time of 21:26.5 for 37th place overall. In their NCAA Midwest Regional debuts, Jaycie Thomsen (21:42.1) and Anastasia Korzenowski (21:45.2) rounded out the Gophers' top five in 63rd and 67th, respectively.
Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in the NCAA Championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large. Champion Iowa State and runner-up Oklahoma State earned the automatic bids from the Gophers' Midwest Regional.
Minnesota joins BYU, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Penn State, Portland, Southern Utah, Stanford, and Washington as at-large women's team qualifiers.
Minnesota has made 23 team appearances at the NCAA Championship since 1974. The program's highest team finish came in 2005 when the Gophers placed ninth. All-Americans Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Emily Brown led Minnesota's efforts. The ninth-place showing was the first of five-straight top-12 finishes for the Gophers.
The Gophers' most recent All-American is Stephanie Price, who finished 31st in 2010. Minnesota's all-time highest individual finisher at the NCAA championships is Megan Duwell, who took eighth overall in 2009.
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