Both the Nebraska Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams were at-large qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships that will be held November 20 at Max Championship Cross Country Course in Waverly, Iowa.

The men's race will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the women's race at 11 a.m.

For the NWU men, it is their 14th straight appearance at the NCAA III Championships which is the fifth longest streak in the country. This will be the 10th overall appearance for the Nebraska Wesleyan women.

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.

At the Central Region championships held last Saturday (Nov. 13) at Wartburg College, the Nebraska Wesleyan women placed third overall as a team with the men finishing fourth. The Prairie Wolves then received word of the at-large qualifiers on Sunday that sends them to the championships.

The top 35 runners in each race were named All-Region performers.  Kyle Wagner, Ryan Osberg, Ben Paben and Mike Rathje all earned All-Region honors in the men's race.  The top five NWU women were each All-Region as Malaina Huebert, Ali Tewes, Amanda Costello, Hannah Kinberg and Meleia Oestmann all finished in the top 35.