NCAA Cross Country Championship Central
?Natalie Cizmas, Eastern Michigan
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan University women's cross country graduate student Natalie Cizmas (Clinton, Twp., Mich.-Chippewa Valley) earned an individual bid to the upcoming NCAA Championships Saturday, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind., the NCAA announced Saturday, Nov. 16.
"It is very difficult to stay at a high level year after year and qualifying for the NCAA Championship for four straight years is testament to Natalie's hard work and determination," said head coach Sue Parks. "This is Natalie's best regional finish and I believe that she is peaking at the perfect time. I'm excited to see what she can do in her last meet in an Eastern uniform."
Cizmas will become the only EMU harrier to take part in four NCAA Championship races, after competing at the title race each of the previous three seasons. Furthermore, this marks the 12th time in program history, and sixth in the last seven years, that the Eagles have been represented at the national meet.
Cimzas paced the Green and White at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Madison Wis., Nov. 15, where she finished a career-high 10th place with a time of 20:33.3. Additionally, she posted the second-fastest time at the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships in DeKalb, Ill., Nov. 2, to earn First-Team All-MAC honors as the Eagles became the first women's cross country program in MAC history to win five consecutive conference titles.
Saturday's championship race will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at 11:15 a.m. Cizmas was among seven EMU runners to traverse the course at the 2019 Under Armour Pre-National Invitational, Oct. 19.
Marc Migliozzi, Akron
AKRON, Ohio - University of Akron senior Marc Migliozzi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) continues to make history becoming the first Akron runner to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship in program history receiving an at-large selection on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Migliozzi was one of 38 individuals selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their regions.
Migliozzi led the Zips' men's squad at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis., crossing the line in a career- and team-best time of 30:46.4, en route to finishing 19th overall in the men's 10K. The men's eighth-place team effort was the second-best in program history, behind only a seventh-place finish in 2015.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to represent Akron at the NCAA Championships next weekend," said Migliozzi. "It has been a goal of mine to run at this meet for four years now. This entire season has truly been incredible, and I owe everything to my amazing team, Coach LaBadie and supportive family. Without them, I never would have gotten to this point."
"Marc has worked long and hard to make this dream a reality," Akron head men's cross country coach Lee LaBadie commented. "I am extremely proud of him."
Indiana State University will host the championships, Saturday, November 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course located in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women's race will begin at 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by the men's race at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
