Cross country men get nationals bid

"The NCAA selection committee looked at our record and saw we were the No. 1 team at large in the entire country," Murray said. "There was no way they could keep Arizona out of this."

The men placed in a tie for fourth in the NCAA Western Regional meet on Saturday in Fresno, Calif., which was the qualifying meet for the NCAAs. A fourth place finish did not guarantee them of a bid to the national championships and the decision whether to include the Arizona men on the national roster was left up to an NCAA selection committee.

"We had an unbelievable record all year," said Murray. "I would have been surprised if we had been left out."

This will enable the individual Western Regional champion, UA senior Abdi Abdirahman, to have his team with him. Last year Abdirahman went to the NCAAs alone, as the rest of the Wildcat men did not make the cut. Abdirahman finished seventh last year and is expected to contend for the national title this year.

The UA women's team automatically qualified for the national championships with their first place finish at Regionals. Senior Amy Skieresz was the individual champion, and like Abdirahman, she spent last year at NCAAs without her team being present for support. Skieresz finished second in the country last year after winning the 1996 title.

The teams will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to compete for the NCAA title Monday, Nov. 23.

Brian Wahlund can be reached via e-mail Brian.Wahlund@wildcat.arizona.edu.