CROSS COUNTRY

For the fourth consecutive year, both the men’s and women’s Huntington cross country teams will compete in the NAIA Cross Country Championships. The Foresters will run on Friday, November 18, at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

The HU men, ranked 12th in the final NAIA poll, received one of the 14 at-large berths as determined by an oversight committee. The rest of the men’s 8K field will be made up of 22 automatic qualifiers and 78 athletes competing as individuals.

Huntington is one of six Crossroads League teams making the trip to the sunshine state. Other CL schools competing include Goshen, Grace, IWU, as the conference champions, Spring Arbor and Taylor.

It is the Foresters’ ninth trip to the NAIA’s big stage with the first appearance dating back to 1998. Huntington finished ninth last year while their second place finish in 2020 marks the program’s highest finish.

On the women’s side, the 11th-ranked Foresters received the third of 12 at-large bids. The rest of the field is made up of 24 automatic qualifiers and 80 individual qualifiers.

This trip is HU’s tenth to the championships with their first dating back to 1991. The Foresters finished 23rd last fall with their 10th place finish in 2019 marking the program’s highest finish.

Huntington is one of four Crossroads League teams that will be competing at nationals this year. Taylor received the league’s automatic bid as the conference champs while Grace and IWU, like Huntington, received at-large berths.

Both races will be broadcast on the NAIA Network. To access the live video stream and purchase a pass, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/. The men will toe the line at 8:30 a.m. followed by the women’s race at 9:30 a.m.

Members of the HU women’s championship team includes MacKenzie Brewer, Shelby Christman, Abby Mays, Emily Tedder, Amelia Strzechowski, Carmen Trier and Addy Wiley.

Member of the HU men’s championship team includes Reece Gibson, Matthew Hyter, Jonah Lemmon, Austin Liepe, Jackson Robinson, Haile Stutzman and Kent Yoder.