Alabama Women Earn At-Large Berth to NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/13/2021 4:55:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide women will join the men’s team, which earned an automatic berth on Friday, at the 2021 NCAA Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A day after the Alabama men earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Crimson Tide women garnered an at-large bid on Saturday, marking just the second time in program history that both the men and the women advanced to the national championships in the same year.
This year's national championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla. It will be the men's 21st appearance and the 10th for the women at the national championships.
One of the nation's top teams throughout the regular season, there wasn't much question whether the Tide women would advance as they watched the selection show in their team room Saturday afternoon, but there was definite excitement when "Alabama" was called out for the second year in a row.
Head Coach Dan Waters Said
"To have both our men and women make it to nationals in the same year is a big accomplishment for our program and we're super proud of the dedication, drive and hard work that went into making that happen for just the second time in program history. We're really looking forward to getting down to Tallahassee and racing hard, racing smart and finishing this season off with a great performance."
Alabama at the NCAA Cross Country Championships
- This year's appearance marks just the second time since 1993-94 that the Tide women have earned back-to-back berths
- Last season, junior Mercy Chelangat became UA's first individual NCAA cross country champion
- The Alabama women were eighth at last season's NCAA Championships, the second-best finish in school history
- The Crimson Tide men earned an automatic bid to this year's championships by finishing second at the NCAA South Regional Championships Friday morning in Huntsville, Ala.
- The UA men are returning to the NCAA Championships after a one-year hiatus
- The men finished 24th in their last team appearance at the national championships, which came in 2019
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Players Mentioned
