Conference Carolinas Runners Geared Up for NCAA Cross Country Championships
Conference Carolinas Runners Geared Up for NCAA Cross Country Championships
NCAA Division II National Championships Central
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2015 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Missouri. Missouri Southern State University will serve as host.
The University of Mount Olive Trojan men, Barton College's Joel Lagat and Limestone College's Sarah Rutto will represent Conference Carolinas at the championship meet.
The championship will start with the women's 6K at 11 a.m. EST and conclude with the men's 10K at 12:15 p.m. EST.
WOMEN'S RACE
A 2015 all-region selection, Sarah Rutto qualified for the NCAA National Championships after turning in a 6K time of 23:38 at the Southeast regional earlier this month. The freshman would finish the race eighth overall, setting a new Limestone record with her time. Rutto is the first Saint in cross country history to qualify for the NCAA National Championships.
MEN'S RACE
The No. 17 nationally ranked Mount Olive Trojans will be making their fifth straight appearance at the national championship meet and hope to build on their 19th-place finish in 2014. The Trojans head into nationals with two consecutive championships under their belts. The men wrapped up the 2015 Conference Carolinas Championship with a perfect score of 15 and followed it up with a Southeast Regional title with a score of 52 points.
Individually, Joel Lagat of Barton earned a spot in the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship after posting an eighth-place finish with a time of 33:33.6 at the Southeast Regional meet. He is the first member of the men’s cross country program at Barton to advance to nationals since the Bulldogs did so as a team in 2000.
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.