INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew Salas has qualified for the NCAA DIII Men's Cross Country Championship the NCAA announced Sunday.
Championship Information | Men's Championship History | Women's Championship History
Salas will represent the Leopards this Saturday, November 24 at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The men's race will begin at 7:45 a.m. PT, followed by the women's race at 8:45 a.m. PT.
"Qualifying for NCAA's is a big turning point in Matt's collegiate racing career," said La Verne Cross Country Head Coach Justin Wood. "Experiencing and learning about national championship competition sets the stage for the future. Matt worked extremely hard for this and he's proven that he's ready. I'm excited to see what he does on Saturday as he takes on the best distance runners in NCAA DIII."
BREAKING: Matt Salas qualifies for NCAA DIII National Championship! #GoLeos #d3xchttps://t.co/Unfr5oEgw8 pic.twitter.com/xuLrvchLdM
— La Verne Leopards (@ULVAthletics) November 17, 2019
Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 16 teams. Sixteen additional teams were selected at-large.
Salas is one of 56 individuals selected to participate in the men's race. The first seven student-athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team were selected to compete in each championship.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions. Salas earned All-Region honors last Saturday when he clocked in at 26:15.6 at the NCAA West Regionals.
Salas' selection marks the second-straight year the La Verne cross country sends a runner to nationals. Last year Melissa Cerrillos represented La Verne nationally.
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