Illinois Receives First At-large Bid for Nationals
November 14, 2005 | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 14, 2005
The Fighting Illini received the first extended at-large bid to advance to the 2005 NCAA National Championship meet, as announced Sunday.
After eighteen teams automatically qualified for nationals by finishing in the top two at nine regionals last weekend, the Division I Track and Field Committee selected 13 additional teams to receive at-large bids to compete in the national meet. Factors involved in the consideration of these bids included the team's regional finish, number of wins against teams qualified for nationals, results of head-to-head competition between teams, record against common opponents, and top individuals.
The Illini's bid came as no surprise to head coach Karen Harvey, who quoted her team's tie for second place at regionals, second-place finish at the Big Ten Championship meet, consistent fifth-place national ranking and excellent record against other teams who had automatically qualified as motivating selection factors.
The Orange and Blue tied Minnesota for second place at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet last weekend. Since only the top-two finishing teams automatically qualify for national competition, a tie-breaker was performed. After comparing Minnesota's top-two individual finishers in second and third with Illinois' in seventh and thirteenth, Minnesota came out on top and leaving Illinois to wait for their bid.
Other teams selected by the committee for advancement include Michigan State, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, and Butler.
The 2005 NCAA National Championship Meet will be held on Monday, November 21 at Indiana State University. The 6K race will begin at 1:15 p.m. Eastern time at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. Complete Illinois results from the national competition will be available at www.fightingillini.com and www.ncaa.org.
