Men's Cross Country Heads To NCAA Championships

Nov. 18, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

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The University of Kansas men’s cross country team will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Championships on Monday, Nov. 21. Currently ranked No. 19 in the country, this will be the Jayhawks’ first appearance at the national meet since 1994.

The Jayhawks are one of 31 qualifying teams, including fellow Big 12 members Colorado, Oklahoma State and Texas. Kansas received one of 13 at-large bids after narrowly missing an automatic berth at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Indiana State University will host the NCAA Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The men’s 10k race will begin at noon.

The Jayhawks had a strong finish at NCAA Pre-Nationals earlier in the season at the same location. In a very competitive field that featured several of the best teams in the nation, KU finished fourth overall in the 8k race. In the process they beat six schools that were ranked ahead of them at the time.

Five Jayhawks, Paul Hefferon (eighth), Benson Chesang (11th), Colby Wissel (15th), Tyler Kelly (18th) and Erik Sloan (22nd), earned all-region honors by virtue of their top-25 finishes at the Midwest Regional Championships. Seniors Joshy Madathil and Cameron Schwehr round out the top 7.

Counting this year, the Jayhawks have qualified for the NCAA Championships a total of 28 times. Their best result came in 1953, when they were crowned champions. KU legend Wes Santee also won the individual championship that same year.