Butler Men Earn NCAA Cross Country Bid

Nov. 16, 2006

The men's cross country team at Butler has received an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championship which will be held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 20. The Bulldogs, who placed third at the Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 11, will be competing in the national meet for the third consecutive year.

Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in the men's cross country championship. The top two teams from each of nine regional meets earned automatic qualification to the national meet, and 13 additional teams were chosen as at-large participants.

The Butler women's team, which finished fourth at the Great Lakes Regional, narrowly missed a national meet invitation.

Butler's men, ranked 19th in the most recent cross country coaches' national poll, captured their ninth straight Horizon League Championship prior to finishing behind Wisconsin and Notre Dame at the Great Lakes Regional Meet. Senior Scott Overall, the individual champ at the Horizon League meet, finished runner-up at the Great Lakes Regional, while senior Alex Hains placed fourth in the regional individual competition. Overall will be running in his third consecutive NCAA national meet, while Hains is returning after competing in last year's championship.

The Bulldogs, who placed fourth at the 2004 NCAA National Championship, finished 25th at last year's national meet. Senior Andy Rayner led Butler last year with a 35th place individual finish, while Overall crossed the finish line in 49th place. Hains came in 100th, while senior Andrew Toward placed 173rd a year ago.

The 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championship, hosted by Indiana State University, will be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute. The men's race is scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. (EDT).