BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University will be well-represented at the NCAA Division II Championships Fall Festival with the men's and women's cross country teams receiving at-large berths for the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. 

 

WWU was one of 18 NCAA Division II schools to have both its men's and women's cross country programs qualify for the national championships.

 

After finishing 5^th in the NCAA II West Regional Championship on Saturday in Billings, Montana, the Viking men are returning to the national championship meet for the first time since a streak of eight consecutive seasons from 2007-14. 

 

The women also finished 5^th at the NCAA II regional and return to nationals for the first time since a 6^th-place finish in 2015.

 

"We are thrilled to be going to Pittsburgh as this is a very deserving honor for both of our teams," said WWU head coach Pee Wee Halsell. "They've worked extremely hard all season with this goal in mind, and they had great performances throughout the season to make this happen. It's going to be a great experience for these student-athletes and I know they are ready to race even faster than they did at the regional meet."

 

The NCAA II West Region champion WWU volleyball team will also be at the 2018 Division II Fall Festival in Pittsburgh, as the No. 3 national seed for the championship.

 

A total of 34 teams were selected to participate in each championship…the top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 24 teams…WWU was one of 10 additional teams that were selected at-large by the NCAA II Cross Country Committee…an additional 24 individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process…the list of advancing teams and individuals are list are posted on NCAA.com.

 

The championships will be held Dec. 1 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Bob O'Conner Golf Course at Schenley Park…Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and SportsPITTSBURGH will serve as hosts…the men's 10K race will begin at 11 am ET, followed by the women's 6K at 12:15 pm ET.

 

NCAA cross country fans can watch the live streams of the NCAA cross country championships as FloTrack Pro subscribers for a monthly price of $29.99 or an annual price of $149.99…the subscription plan will include unlimited access to all FloTrack live broadcasts, video on-demand from all events, FloTrack Originals, documentaries, technique videos and more…since there is a registration process, it is recommended that you register early to ensure you do not miss any of the action.

 

Pittsburgh welcomes you to the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championships Festival…SportsPITTSBURGH, Clarion University and Slippery Rock University will serve as hosts for the championships, taking place November 27-December 1…more than 900 qualifying student-athletes will represent their schools by competing for national championships in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's field hockey and women's volleyball…DII National Championships Festival tickets are on sale now.

 

This marks the seventh time in program history that both the men's and women's programs have been selected to race for the NCAA II national championship…this is the 10^th selection for the men's team, and first since an eight-year run from 2007-2014…it is the 8^th for the women's team, and first since a 6^th-place team finish at the 2015 championship in Joplin, Missouri…WWU has been competing at the NCAA Division II level since 1998.

 

Both the men's and women's teams from Alaska Anchorage and Simon Fraser earned automatic invitations to the meet thanks to top-three finishes at Saturday's NCAA West Regional Championships…WWU's men's and women's teams and the women's team from Seattle Pacific received at-large invitations…Central Washington Nicole Soleim and Alexa Shindruk received individual invitations to the women's race while Western Oregon Tyler Jones and Dustin Nading earned men's race invitations.

 

Here is a look at the 2018 WWU Cross Country schedule with meet results. Times and more detail on each event can be found online at WWUVikings.com/XC:

 

 

Fans can follow WWU Cross Country online at WWUVikings.com/XC, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUTFXC), Instagram (@WWUTFXC) and Facebook (@WWUTFXC).

 

-- WWU XC --