Men's Cross Country Makes History, Earning First Team Appearance At NCAA Championships

NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship Qualifiers

MIDLAND, MICH. – The No. 29 Northwood men's cross country team has qualified for the program's first-ever Division II NCAA Championships appearance on Dec 2.

This is the first time in program history that Northwood has qualified as a team for the NCAA race. Northwood has previously had three individuals qualify before; Zane Aldrich – 2021, Brian Patrick – 2018, and Jon Hodge – 2006.

No. 29 Northwood's 2022 season has seen many historical feats this season including earning their first national poll appearance on October 5 (No. 28) and three more rankings in the following weeks: Oct. 12 (No. 29), Oct. 26 (No. 28), and Nov. 9 (No. 29).

Senior Dillan Haviland's (St. Johns, Mich.) leadership and consistent push were present all season as he set (Grand Rapids Community College Invitational - 24:33.0, Sept. 17) and reset (Live In Lou Classic - 24:04.0, Oct. 1) his 8K school record. Haviland also moved into fourth all-time as he finished in 31:57.57 at the Midwest Regional on Nov. 19.

Breakout sophomore Preston Earl (Sterling Heights, Mich.) moved into second all-time in the 8k (Live In Lou Classic - 24:42.0, Oct. 1) and moved into fifth all-time in the 10K (NCAA Midwest Regional - 31:57.6, Nov. 19)

Eight runners set new personal best in the 8K that landed on the program's top-25 list, while four set new 10K personal marks that landed on the program's top 10K performance lists.

34 teams per gender were selected for the championships. 24 on each side automatically qualified (three per region, from regional championships) while the remaining 10 for each of the men's and women's championships received at-large bids as Northwood did.

The championship race will be at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington on Friday, Dec. 2. It will be streamed live on NCAA.com beginning at 1 p.m. ET for the men's race and 2:15 p.m. ET for the women's race.