The University of Toledo women’s cross country team was awarded an at-large berth into the NCAA championship meet that will take place next Saturday in Madison, Wis.

Also headed to the national championship meet will be Dominic Serem of the men’s team, who earned an individual berth after finishing third at Friday’s Great Lakes regional meet.

The NCAA national championship trip will be the second in three years for the UT women and the sixth in program history. UT goes as one of 13 at-large selections nationally after finishing third at the regional.

"It's really rewarding and validating, and I'm super proud of our women," UT coach Andrea Grove-McDonough said. "I'm proud of the way we bounced back from the disappointment of last year. While we still managed to win the conference title, we had a bigger goal to return to the NCAAs, like we did in 2022. It's so rewarding to be able to bounce back from that and come out even better and stronger. I think we are even stronger than we were in 2022."

UT’s Mercy Kinyanjui was the individual champion in the women’s regional, the second regional champion in program history after Briana Shook won a regional in 2002.

The Rockets’ best team finish at a national championship met came in 2011, when they finished 21st.

First Published November 17, 2024, 12:31 a.m.