INDIANAPOLIS, Ind – The Eastern Michigan University cross country program saw one Eagle earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in junior Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University), announced the NCAA today, Nov. 13.
"We're excited for Vinny," said Director/Head Coach Sue Parks. "This is a great opportunity for him to represent Eastern Michigan on the biggest stage. He had a strong race earlier in the year at Florida State and that experience should pay off next Saturday."
"He has worked hard this fall to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships and this is well deserved," added Head Coach Mark Rinker. "I'm excited for Vinny."
The Green and Yellow harrier put together a strong season, including an individual Mid-American Conference title with an 8K time of 24:05.7, Oct. 30, and all-region honors after crossing the finish line in 30:10.6 for 18th at the Great Lakes Regional, Nov. 12. By earning the at-large bid, the Iceland native maintains EMU's streak of having at least one harrier at the NCAAs since 2015.
The NCAA Cross Country Championships, hosted by Florida State University, will take place Nov. 20, at 11:10 a.m. ET. The men's 10K will be run on the Seminole's Apalachee Region Park in Tallahassee, Fla., a familiar course for Eastern Michigan, with Eagles competing in the FSU XC Open earlier in the season. At the meet, Magnusson took seventh with a season-best time of 24:03.7 in the 8K.
Last season, junior Andy Payne (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) was selected for the championship race as an at-large bid. In the 2020 men's title race, Payne crossed the finish line in 32:26 to grab spot No. 172 in his national race debut. The junior started in the back of the pack early, but made up substantial ground for the remainder of the course. At one point, the Worthington, Ohio product sat in 247th, but persevered to move up 75 spots by the end of the race.
Furthermore, the last EMU team to travel for the national showdown was the women's team in 2017, finishing 27th with 603 points, Nov. 18.
