NEW ORLEANS – One of the best New Orleans distance student-athletes in school history will get one final race on the cross country course in a UNO uniform as senior
Arina Kleshchukova was named a national championship qualifier for the second time of her career as the NCAA broadcast its cross selection show on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the day, the Privateers program was on pins and needles as Kleshchukova claimed 11th overall at the South Central Regionals on Friday. She finished as the fifth-best individual at the meet, and with only the top-four earning automatic qualifying spots, Kleshchukova was forced to wait to see if she would make the cut as an at-large selection.
The news broke on Saturday afternoon that she would indeed represent the Privateers at the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships. She is the only student-athlete in school history to advance to two cross country national championships during her UNO career.
"I am extremely happy and proud of Arina for earning this opportunity once again," associate head coach
Brock Moreaux said. "Two short months ago we could barely run a mile, much less think about the chance of racing at the national level. So, for her to earn this spot shows her true perseverance and trust in the program and herself. I cannot wait to see her line-up one last time on the cross country course and represent her city and university proudly!"
Kleshchukova will look to improve on her 155th-place finish at the 2019 National Championships.
The 2021 DI Women's Cross Country National Championship is set for Saturday, Nov. 20 at Apalachee Regional Park. It is a layout that is familiar to the UNO standout, as Kleshchukova has already competed on the course twice during her Privateer career; a fifth-place finish at the 2020 FSU Winter Classic to go with a runner-up performance at the Florida State Invitational in 2019.
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