Megan Lessard Qualifies for NCAA Cross Country Championships
Written By: Columbia University AthleticsRelease: 11/17/2008
NEW YORK – The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee announced Sunday the team and individual qualifiers for the 2008 Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, and Columbia senior Megan Lessard earned an individual bid.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals qualified in their respective NCAA regions. Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.
Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.
Lessard, who came in tenth at NCAA Northeast Regionals in Van Cortlandt Park this weekend, earned her bid with a time of 21:53.9. She was one of the top four individuals not on a qualifying team: runners ahead of her from Providence and Syracuse earned automatic bids with their team qualification, and Stony Brook’s at-large bid was just enough for Lessard to earn the fourth spot.
Lessard is the 44th woman from Columbia in the last eight years to compete at the national championships, and a team or individual has represented the Lions’ program in seven of the last eight years.
“Meaghan's qualifying for the NCAA’s in cross country is the tangible manifestation of hard work, sacrifice, and persistence over four years,” head coach Willy Wood said. “I am so happy for her. “
Indiana State University will host the Championships, November 24, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women’s race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the men’s race at 12:48 p.m. Both championship races will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network and streamed online via NCAA.com.
Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics/Gene Boyars
