3 Teams, 3 Individuals to Represent AAC at NAIA Women's Cross Country Championship
November 11, 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The final field for the 45th annual NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship has been released as 35 teams and 82 individuals have qualified. The field will prepare to race on Friday, November 22, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Columbia, Mo., Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is sending three teams. Milligan and Montreat each received an automatic berth based on their performances at the AAC Cross Country Championship Meet. SCAD Atlanta earned an at-large berth.
In addition, three individuals qualified. They are Kamille Dixon and Averie Akin of Brenau; and Rylee Fisher of Reinhardt.
Qualifier Notes
- 2024's championship will be the first to take place in Columbia, Mo.
- This year's field comprises 23 automatic qualifiers, one host berth and 11 at-large berths. A team may qualify with an automatic berth by winning its conference championship meet or as the runner-up in the championship meet provided the conference has 12 or more schools and the runner-up is rated in the top 30 of the final NAIA Women's Cross Country rating, which is found HERE
- The 11 at-large berths were determined by the final NAIA Women's Cross Country rating and reviewed by the NAIA Women's Cross Country Oversight Committee.
- In addition to the team qualifiers, 82 individuals qualified for the championship based on their scoring finish at their respective conference meet.
- The Crossroads League boasts the highest number of team qualifiers in the 2024 field with five teams: Grace (Ind.), Indiana Wesleyan, Marian (Ind.), Taylor (Ind.) and Goshen (Ind.).
- The 2024 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship will be streamed live on the NAIA Channel on the Urban Edge Network for free and can be found here.
TEAM QUALIFIERS
| INSTITUTION | CONFERENCE | QUALIFICATION METHOD |
| Aquinas (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
| College of Idaho | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Columbia (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | Host Bid |
| Cornerstone (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Dakota State (S.D.) | North Star Athletic Association | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Dillard (La.) | HBCU Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Dordt (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Eastern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| Goshen (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Haskell (Kan.) | Continental Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| IU East (Ind.) | River States Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Marian (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Montana Tech | Frontier Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Montreat (N.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Runner-Up |
| Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Oklahoma City | Sooner Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Saint Francis (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| Saint Mary (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | The Sun Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| Southern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads League | Conference Tournament Champion |
| The Master's (Calif.) | Great Southwest Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| UC Merced (Calif.) | California Pacific Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |
| William Woods (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | Conference Tournament Champion |