November 5, 2012
For Immediate Release
Fort Wayne, Ind. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released the team and individual qualifiers for the 2012 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships on Monday, Nov. 5.
Indiana Tech’s Aaron Belcher (Mooresville, IN/Mooresville) was the lone qualifier for the men while Brenna Conger (Packwood, IA/Pekin) and Cherie Gaines (Farmington Hills, MI/Farmington Hills) qualified from the women’s team.
Belcher was named First Team All-WHAC after finishing in 2nd place in the conference championship meet over the weekend. He ran a career personal-best 25:27 and finished just six seconds behind the winner. Tech’s junior standout will represent the program for the second straight year at the national championship.
Freshman Brenna Conger and sophomore Cherie Gaines will be making their first trips to the NAIA National Championship. The duo took home 11th and 13th place respectively at the conference meet to earn Honorable Mention All-WHAC. Conger ran a personal-best 19:03 and Gaines turned in a 19:19.
The 57th annual men’s and 33rd annual women’s event will take place at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington on Nov. 17. The women’s 5k championship race will start at 10:30 a.m. PST followed by the men’s 8k run at 11:45 a.m.
The 32-team men's field features 21 conference/independent/unaffiliated group champions, one conference/independent/unaffiliated group runner-up and nine at-large selections. Concordia (Ore.) received a host berth to the event. There are also 105 individual qualifiers.
The 32-team women's field features 22 conference/independent/unaffiliated group champions, two conference/independent/unaffiliated group runner-ups and seven at-large selections. Concordia (Ore.) received a host berth for the event. There are also 109 individual qualifiers.
To see the official NAIA release click here
For more information on Indiana Tech athletics please call the Athletic Office at 260-422-5561 ext. 2492 or visit our website at http://www.indianatech.edu/athletics
