OFFICIAL NCAA RELEASE
NEW ORLEANS - As we get closer to the start of the NCAA Division I Cross Country season, more and more questions are starting to get answered with the latest being that the Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved team and individual selection criteria for the upcoming 2020 Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Wednesday.
"I am happy to see that the governing body was able to come up with a fair selection process that gives cross country athletes a chance to showcase their talent on the national stage," distance coach
Brock Moreaux said. "As a team, we are just simply excited for the opportunity to compete again. We are entering year three of our rebuilding process and are in our best form as a team in 15-plus years, so we are excited to see that come into existence in January."
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 championship meet was moved from the fall to the spring. The championships are now set for March 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee will use the following criteria to select teams:
- Schools will have a declaration window from March 3 at midnight Eastern time until March 5 at 7:59 PM Eastern to be considered for team selections
- Conference championship performance holds the most weight
- After the conference championship, a team will be evaluated on its body of work for all competitions, regardless of the time of year they occurred
- Common opponents and head-to-head competition against Division I opponents only will be used when comparing teams
Of more note for the University of New Orleans is how individuals qualify as returner
Arina Kleshchukova looks to become the first Privateer in school history to make it to back-to-back cross country national championships.
Committee members will use the following criteria to select individuals for the championships:
- Schools will have a declaration window from March 3 at midnight Eastern time until March 5 at 7:59 PM Eastern to be considered for individual selections
- The top individual finisher at each conference championship who is not part of a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA championships (maximum of 32 individuals)
- The remaining individual spots will be selected at large by the committee to fill the field to 38
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