The University of Wyoming men’s cross-country running team has qualified for the NCAA championships. After a year of bouncing in and out of the NCAA Top 25, the team’s sixth-place finish at the Mountain Regionals was what sealed the at-large bid. Junior Jacob White was the lead runner for the Cowboys, finishing in 19th out of 118.
An at-large bid means that the NCAA selection committee decided the team was worth a spot in the championship race despite not automatically qualifying. Only 13 teams in the country receive an at-large bid, while 18 other schools automatically qualify.
Fifth-year senior Gus McIntyre said this moment is a result of years of work.
“We have a lot of experience, like good races under our belt. So just being together with the same guys for the past four years or so has been really good for us, just growing together and building this team,” McIntyre reflected.
The team finished sixth at the NCAA Mountain Regional event last Friday, which put them in consideration for a bid. The Mountain Region was the most competitive, sending six teams to the NCAA Championship out of the 31 teams.
All five scorers for the Cowboys are upperclassmen. This experience has been valuable in achieving the championship berth.
“It was kind of a big dream of mine and a lot of my teammates to qualify and go to NCAAs,” McIntyre said, “In my last season, getting to go is really special, to kind of give something back to the program and our coaches.”
The NCAA championship race will be a 10-kilometer race in Madison, Wisconsin on Sat. Nov. 23. The race will be at 9:10 a.m. mountain time and broadcast on ESPNU and on the ESPN app.
