👟 Ben Butler Qualifies for NCAA Cross Country Championships
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas cross country senior Ben Butler was one of 38 individuals selected to compete at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced on Sunday.
Butler becomes the first member of the KU men’s team to earn qualification to the Championships since 2015 when Evan Landes placed 136th at the Championships. Kansas has a long history of NCAA Championship qualifiers dating back to 1945, with four men’s individual champions in the Championship history.
The Cross Country Championships, which take place March 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, consists of 31 teams and 38 individual qualifiers as selected through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
Butler’s senior campaign has been a strong one, placing in the top-15 in all three of his races in the fall, including a 13th place finish at the 2020 Big 12 Cross Country Championships held at Rim Rock Farm. Butler earned All-Big 12 Team honors for his finish.
Butler becomes the fifth NCAA cross country qualifier under distance coach Michael Whittlesey and 11th under head coach Stanley Redwine.
The 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships will take place March 15 at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The men’s race will begin at 12:40 p.m., CT.
