Nov. 16, 2008

NCAA Selections

INDIANAPOLIS - For the first time since 2003, both the Washington men's and women's cross country teams are headed to the NCAA Championships. The top-ranked Husky women guaranteed themselves a berth by winning the West Regional Championships yesterday, but the men had to wait to be awarded an at-large bid today.

The men's team placed fifth in the West Region, thought to be the deepest in the country. That was borne out today as the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee granted at-large bids to five West Region teams, including the Huskies. Thirteen at-large bids were handed out today, adding to the 18 teams that finished in the top-two at Saturday's Regional meets, bringing the total for each race to 31 teams.

The NCAA Championships will be held just eight days from now on Monday, November 24 in Terre Haute, Indiana on the LaVern Gibson Championships Course. Indiana State University hosts the event.

The women's team is enjoying an historic season that has seen them earn the program's first ever No. 1 ranking. The Huskies are undefeated on the season, having won the Sundodger Invite, the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Ala., the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, the Pac-10 Championships in Springfield, Ore., and now the West Regionals in Palo Alto, Calif.

Washington's Pac-10 victory was its first since 1989 and was headlined by a UW sweep of the top six spots, a first in conference history. Yesterday at Regionals, the women swept the third through seventh spots to win despite resting Pac-10 Champion Kendra Schaaf. It was their first Regional title since 1992.

The Husky men began