The NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee announced Sunday the team and individual qualifiers for the 2011 Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. Among those individuals qualifying for competition at the NCAA Championships was Gustavus Adolphus runner Brooke Beskau (Hastings, Minn.).
Beskau is coming off a 23rd place finish at the NCAA Central Region Meet held on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Waverly, Iowa. Beskau crossed the finished line in 22:55.1 to lead the Gusties at the meet.
Brooke is one of seven runners from the Central Region to qualify as an individual for the NCAA Championships.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions.
Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 16 teams. Sixteen additional teams were selected at-large.
Beskau earned a bid to compete after finishing within the top-seven of athletes from the Central Region who were not a part of a qualifying team. 56 individuals were selected.
The 2011 NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships will be hosted by UW-Oshkosh at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. on Nov. 19. The women’s race will begin at 11:00 a.m.