Cross Country team qualifies for NAIA Championships

November 7, 2006

Corban's women's cross country team will be running in its first-ever NAIA National Championship following a 3rd place showing at the Region I Championships and its first-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference title.(Photo courtesy of Josh Randolph)

OLATHE, Kan. – For the first-time ever, Corban's women's cross country team qualified for the NAIA Championships thanks to its 3rd place showing at the Region I Championships and its first-ever Cascade Collegiate Conference team title on Tuesday.

After receiving its highest national ranking ever (No. 16) yesterday, the Warriors had to play the waiting game to see if they would be awarded one of fifteen at-large bids. Fortunately, Corban was the 8th at-large team and will be the lone Cascade Collegiate Conference team represented.

Fourth-year head coach and current Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year Norm Berney said, "The girls have worked hard all season and they deserve this great honor. If they continue working as hard as they have been, we should be ready to perform at the national level."

Corban is one of four NAIA Region I schools, along with regional champions Simon Fraser (B.C.), regional runner-up British Columbia, and Frontier Conference member Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).

Among the nationally-ranked schools, all top 25 teams made it to the national championships with three unranked teams qualifying via regional championship victories.

Leading the way for the Warriors are freshman Carli Moller (Vancouver, Wash.) and junior Danielle Jordan (Medford, Ore.) thanks to 6th and 7th showing in the conference and 12th and 13th in the region. The duo, along with freshman Bernice Soto (Aumsville, Ore.), were the first-ever members of the women's program to be named to the all-conference team.

Aiding in the efforts for Corban are junior Ashley Adams (Lebanon, Ore.), junior Sara Aikin (Lebanon, Ore.), junior Jill Nielsen (Baker City, Ore.), and freshman Tera Stegner (Damascus, Ore.).

Corban’s cross country team will run on Saturday, November 18th, in Louisville, Kentucky beginning at 10:30 a.m. (EST).

To view the complete list of team and individual qualifiers for the NAIA women's cross country national championships, click here