Gopher Teams Expecting National Berths

After all is said and done this weekend, the Golden Gopher cross country teams expect to hold berths for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Both Minnesota teams compete tomorrow at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Oklahoma where two automatic berths to the national championships in Terre Haute, Indiana are up for grabs.

The Gopher women are the defending Midwest Regional champions; the Gopher men were runners-up at the meet last year. If either of the Gopher teams finish outside the top-2 on Saturday, the NCAA offers 13 at-large berths to NCAAs, selected by committee and announced on Monday.

Gopher Women ... The Gopher women appear strong favorites to defend their Midwest Regional title and advance automatically to NCAAs. The #7-ranked Gophers are the top-ranked team in the field which also includes #14 Illinois, #20 Iowa, and #29 Nebraska.

Should the Gophers finish worse than the runners-up at the meet, head coach Gary Wilson is still confident the strength of his team's performances a the Griak Invitational, Pre-Nationals, and Big Ten Championships will earn the team a nationals berth.

Read the extensive media release on the Gopher women HERE.

Gopher Men ... Winning the region looks like a tall order for the Gopher men. #2-ranked Oklahoma State, running on its home course, is the prohibitive favorite. The Gophers appear to be part of a three-way battle for the region's second automatic qualifying spot. Minnesota is ranked #14, Tulsa is #15, and Iowa State sits at #21.

Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia calls this year's Midwest Region field the strongest ever.

“In addition to the two teams that get those automatic berths, I expect our Region will also have a couple teams earn those at-large spots into the NCAA field,” he said in a Gopher media release.

Read the men's media release HERE.

Find additional info on the Midwest Regional HERE.

For details on at-large qualifying procedures, check out the NCAA D1 handbook (page 11), HERE.