Official NCAA Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee has announced participants for the 2022 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Sunday with Pacific Lutheran University's Sarah Paquet and Ryan Stracke both punching a ticket to the event. 

Paquet earns the bid after placing 11th overall at yesterday's NCAA Division III West Region Championships, traversing the 6,000-meter course in Spokane, Washington in 22 minutes, 7.9 seconds. The senior from Olympia, Washington becomes the first female Lute to qualify for nationals since Bethany De Vilbiss competed at the 2004 NCAA Championships.
 
Stracke makes the cut after securing an 18th place finish yesterday in Spokane. The senior from Puyallup, Washington covered the 8K course in 25:02.4 and is the first Lute to compete at nationals since Brad Hodkinson competed at the NCAA meet in 2016 and 2017. 

Paquet and Stracke earn the nod by virtue of finishing among the top seven individual runners at the NCAA Division III West Region Championships who aren't on a qualifying team. Qualifying teams from the West Region for the men included automatic bid Pomona-Pitzer Colleges along with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, University of California, Santa Cruz, and George Fox University. Women's team qualifiers included West Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps along with Colorado College, George Fox, Pomona-Pitzer, and UC Santa Cruz. 
 
The 2022 NCAA Division III Championships will be held on Saturday at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. The women's race will begin at 11 a.m. (Eastern) with the men's race at 12 p.m. (Eastern).