CHARLOTTE, N.C.-
Both Queens University of Charlotte’s men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to compete in the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships Saturday in Evansville, Indiana. The women’s race kicks off at noon CST while the men’s race starts at 1pm.
The championship marks the third appearance for the men’s team who enter the meet ranked seventh in the nation after wins in both the NCAA Southeast Region and Conference Carolinas Championships. The women’s team is making its debut appearance in the national championships after Jessica Neville's (Cold Spring, N.Y., Haldane) 2008 performance as Queens’ first individual qualifier. The Royals earned the national berth by finishing runner-up to Columbus State by a single point at the Southeast Region Championships after winning their first conference title two weeks earlier.
The men’s squad will be led by senior Oscar Ogwaro (Los Angeles, Calif., Woodrow Wilson) who earned Southeast Region Athlete of the Year honors by defending his regional individual title. Senior Matthew Rowell (Show Low, Ariz. , Blue Ridge ) is expected to contribute as the Royals’ top returning finisher from last season as two-time NCAA national track champion Michael Crouch (Yucca Valley, Calif., Yucca Valley), who was third overall in 2008, is sidelined with a sports hernia. Expected to compete for Queens will be also be five All-Region honorees in senior Futsum Mebrahtu (Phoenix, Ariz., North), junior Nelson Mwangi (Kenya, Nairobi School), sophomore Simon Stuetzel (Meinborn, Germany), and freshmen Alex Schilling (Dresden, Germany, Sportgymnasium ) and Brian Yates (Newton, N.C., Fred T. Ford). Sophomore Edgar Santoya (Valle de Santiago, Mexico) will serve as an alternate.
Throughout the 2009 campaign, the women's cross country runners have had three leaders in conference runner-up Neville, All-Southeast performer and Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Maraya Slatter (Benson, N.C., West Johnston) and sophomore Holly Annas (Granite Falls, N.C., South Caldwell). Senior Meagan Nedlo (Mt. Pleasant, Tex., Pittsburg) suits up for her second and last collegiate race after sitting out the regular season recovering from injury. Queens’ lineup will also include senior Sarah Khan (Miami, Fla., Hialeah Miami Lake) and freshmen Katie Snow (Brewer, Me., Brewer) and Olivia Chester (Statesboro, Ga., Statesboro). Hannah DeMarco (Charlotte, N.C., E.E. Waddell)will be the Royals alternate.
“The weather couldn’t be any better,” said Southeast Region Coach of the Year Scott Simmons from Evansville. “It should be around 60-degrees and dry at race time tomorrow and, I think, across the board, we are prepared and ready to go.” Good weather and a relatively dry course will be a welcome change for the Royals who endured 20-degree temperatures and near-blizzard conditions at the 2008 championships in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.
24 and teams and nearly 200 runners per race are expected to compete in the women’s 6k and men’s 10k, respectively. Adams State College will look to defend both the men’s and women’s team title while a host of talented harriers will vie for the individual title. NCAA All-American honors will go to the top 40 in each race.
Results can be found online after the race at www.goisueagles.com