With collegiate teams south of the border fighting to qualify for the NCAA Championships at six regional events last weekend, the Rebels of the University of Mississippi and the Huskies from Washington earned a spot at nationals thanks to a little help from some Lions.
For the second year in a row, Farah Abdulkarim will make his way to Terre Haute, Indiana for the NCAA Championships as he and his Ole Miss teammates dominated the South Region race in Florida. While the senior runner from Glebe Collegiate dropped back to 9th in the standings this year following a bronze last year, the Rebels were still able to secure their second straight South Region Championship. Abdulkarim finished the 10 kilometre course in 30 minutes and 33.1 seconds, sandwiched between teammates Cade Bethman and Waleed Suliman who finished a tenth of second before and after him. The SEC Champions scored 69 points to win over Middle Tennessee State and will enter the NCAA Championships ranked 11th nationally.
On the west coast, Shona McCulloch and her Huskie teammates traveled to in state rival Washington State University in Colfax for West Region supremacy. McCulloch was the third runner for Washington, completing the 6 kilometre course in 20 minutes and 12.6 seconds to finish 11th – 17 spots higher than in 2018. While the Huskies certainly had the deepest team in the field, placing all seven runners within the top 30, only the top five placings are counted and Washington was edged out by Stanford 39-49 as Cardinal runners took the top two spots. With the NCAA Championships set for next weekend, the Huskies have a strong chance at a national medal as they enter the event ranked fourth behind Arkansas, Stanford and BYU.
In the Great Lakes region, Owen Day and his Eastern Michigan Eagles were 10th overall. Day, more known for his exploits over 1500 metres, placed 66th overall in 32 minutes and 4.6 seconds. He was the Eagles third scorer.
The NCAA Cross Country Championships take place this Saturday in Indiana with the women’s race scheduled for 11:15 am ET and the men’s race follows and hour later. For live results, click this link http://pttiming.com/events/87931616.