Cross Country Set for NCAA Nationals
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Eastern Michigan's women's team, Hlynur Andresson of the EMU men's cross country team and Western Michigan's Hanne Christensen will represent the Mid-American Conference at the NCAA Championships, Saturday, Nov. 18, in Louisville, Ky.
The Eagles' trip to the national championship serves as just the third time in program history, and second straight, in which the team qualified to NCAA's.
EMU earned its at-large bid Saturday, Nov. 11, one day after placing fourth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The squad had a strong showing in the tough field of competition, finishing two runners within the top-15 and ending with a total team score of 146 points. Senior Jordann McDermitt (Davison, Mich.-Davison) paced Eastern's harriers with a fifth-place finish, earning all-region honors for her third straight year. Her performance also warranted the first Mid-American Scholar Athlete of the Week award earned by a women's cross country representative this year.
Redshirt senior Alsu Bogdanova (Kazan, Russia-Lyceum #83) also put together an impressive performance in the regional competition, finishing second on the team and 11th in the total pool of runners, which included more than 220 competitors. Her efforts also earned her all-region honors for the third straight year. Both Bogdanova and McDermitt will look to keep their consistency rolling into the NCAA Championships, as they have now finished either first or second on the EMU squad in every meet they have competed in this season, including the MAC Championships, where each earned First Team All-MAC honors.
The Eagles will look to build on last year's event, in which the team placed ninth for the highest finish in the NCAA Championship in program history. Additionally, McDermitt has the opportunity to become the first student-athlete from the women's cross country program to earn All-American honors twice, as she is currently just one-of-two women's cross country runners to earn the coveted honors, the other being Donna Donakowski, who nabbed All-American status in 1987.
The news of Andresson's individual qualification came one day after he placed second in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Nov. 11, in Terre Haute, Ind. Andresson was near the front of the pack throughout the entire race, as he ultimately crossed the finish line just six seconds after the regional champion to claim runner-up and all-region honors. His second-place was the highest finish by an Eagle in the regional competition since 2006, when Corey Nowitzke took home the title.
Christensen qualified for Friday with a masterful run at last weekend's NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships with a 6K time of 20:48.8, good for sixth overall, and was awarded all-region honors. Throughout her senior season, Christensen led the Broncos in all five races she has competed in with WMU. She has been crowned an individual champion in three separate events including the George Dales Invite, Pre-National Invitational and the Mid-American Conference Championship, becoming the first member of WMU to garner the title since 1993.
