Butler University and Loyola University Chicago will represent the Horizon League at the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the NCAA Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee announced Nov. 13.
Both the men's and women's team from Butler earned at-large berths for the Nov. 21 competition after fourth-place finishes at the Great Lakes Regional Championship last weekend in Bloomington, Ind. The Loyola men's team also earned an at-large berth after finishing fifth at the Midwest Regional Championship in Iowa City, Iowa.
Butler is one of three Indiana schools to make the field of 31, joining Indiana University and Notre Dame. The selection marks the second consecutive season that both Butler teams have participated in the championship. Last year's men's team finished fourth in the nation, while the women's team finished 31st in its first ever championship appearance. The selection marks the first ever appearance for Loyola.
Butler and Loyola join 29 others in the men's field of 31 teams, comprised of the top two finishers from each of the nine regions, plus 13 at-large berths. Other teams include: Alabama, American, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Brigham Young, Colorado, Dartmouth, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Iowa, Iona, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Portland, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas-El Paso, Virginia, Washington, William & Mary and Wisconsin.
The women's field consists of 18 automatic qualifiers, including Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Boston College, Brigham Young, Colorado, Columbia-Barnard, Duke, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Princeton, Stanford, Tennessee and Villanova. The at-large berths on the women's side include William and Mary, Georgetown, Illinois, Marquette, Michigan State, Northern Arizona, North Carolina, Providence, Rice, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wake Forest.
Butler will be led at the championship by Horizon League individual cross country champions Andy Rayner and Victoria Mitchell. Rayner led the Bulldogs with a seventh-place finish, covering the 10K course in 31:19.8, while Mitchell won the regional 6K race by 23 seconds. Mitchell also finished first at the NCAA Pre-National Meet on Oct. 15.
Junior Sam Romanoski comes in as Loyola's top runner after earning All-Horizon League honors upon finishing second at the 2005 Horizon League Cross Country Championships in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He also earned all-region honors after finishing 16th in last weekend's regional. The last Rambler to compete for individual honors was Robert Wade (Portlaw, Ireland) in 2002.
Indiana State University will host the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Monday, Nov. 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. The men's race will begin at noon Eastern followed by the women's race at 1:15 p.m.
