COLUMBIA, Mo. – Olivet Nazarene University will send both its men's and women's cross country teams to the NAIA National Championship meet for the fifth-consecutive year under Head Coach Kyle Rago. The league office announced Monday evening the Tigers' selection to compete in the 45th annual NAIA Cross Country Championship on Friday, Nov. 22 at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.

The Tiger women earned their spot in the national meet after winning the 2024 CCAC Championship meet last Saturday, while the ONU men were one of 14 teams to receive an at-large berth to the NAIA Cross Country Championships. Both squads will be joined by conference foe St. Francis (Ill.) in Missouri next Friday.

The ONU women scored just 33 points to win the CCAC crown, with four members donning purple and yellow gold finishing inside the top 10 to snap a nine-year league title drought. They were led by freshman harrier Aleigha Garrison who paced the field with her time of 22:09.0 to earn CCAC Runner of the Year honors.

The Tiger men received their at-large bid after an impressive showing in the conference meet, finishing just one point behind league-winner USF. All five ONU scorers earned all-conference accolades with four of them placing inside the top 10.

Both ONU teams have qualified for the national championships for the last four seasons under Rago. The Tiger men and women placed 23rd and 24th, respectively, at the 2023 NAIA Cross Country Championships a season ago.

The 2024 NAIA Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Columbia College at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. The men's 8K race will begin at 10:30 a.m. CST with the women's 6K to follow at 11:30 a.m. CST.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu