FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Nov. 16, 2024) – It took an extra day, but the Northern Arizona men's cross country team is NCAA National Championships bound.
Northern Arizona earned one of 13 at-large bids and will join the women's cross country team at next week's championships.
During yesterday's NCAA Mountain Regional, the men finished third as a team and were 10 points off earning one of two auto-qualifying spots that were earned by BYU and New Mexico. It was the first time NAU had not received an auto-bid since 2015.
The squad will join
David Mullarkey and
Corey Gorgas who qualified as individuals yesterday, as they were one of the top four individuals that did not advance on an auto-qualifying team. Mullarkey finished fifth overall in the men's 10k race, while Gorgas placed 11
th.
The 'Jacks have won six of the last eight NCAA National Titles, winning in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2023, NAU finished runners up to Oklahoma State, for the eighth consecutive year that the men finished in the top two at the national meet, and the 11
th total time they have finished either first or second.
The Northern Arizona women placed second at NCAA Mountain Regionals and auto-qualified as a team for the second-straight year. In last year's championships, the women turned in their best finish in program history by placing second overall, just one point behind NC State.
Both teams have the chance to sweep the national meet for the first time since Colorado did so in 2004.
With more details to come, the NCAA Division I National Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisc. The women will race a 6k at 9:20 a.m. Mountain Standard time and the men will run a 10k at 10:10 a.m.
