NAIA Announces Qualifiers for 2023 Men’s Cross Country National Championship
November 10, 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The final field for the 68th annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship has been released as 36 teams and 85 individuals have qualified. The field will prepare to race on Friday, November 17, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. PT at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course in Vancouver, Wash.
The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is sending two teams in Milligan and Montreat as well as six individual runners. The individuals are Edimo Nintereste and Eli Moran of Bryan; Eli Cox of Tennessee Wesleyan; Trent Wells and William Karim of SCAD Atlanta; and Salvador Castillo of Reinhardt.
Qualifier Notes
- 2023's championship will be the eighth that has taken place at Fort Vancouver
- This year's field is made-up of 23 automatic qualifiers, 12 at-large berths and one host berth. 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 Men's Cross Country rating.
- The 12, at-large berths were determined by the final NAIA Men's Cross Country rating and reviewed by the NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship Oversight Committee.
- In addition to the team qualifiers, 85 individuals qualified for the championship based on their times throughout the year.
- The 2023 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship will be streamed live exclusively on the NAIA Network. To access the live stream or to purchase a race pass, click HERE!
TEAM QUALIFIERS
| Institution | Conference | Qualifying Method |
| Aquinas (Mich.) | Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference | WHAC Meet Champion |
| Benedictine (Kan.) | Heart of America Athletic Conference | Heart Meet Champion |
| Carroll (Mont.) | Frontier Conference | Frontier Meet Champion |
| College of Idaho (Idaho) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Corban (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South Conference | Mid-South Meet Champion |
| Dickinson State (N.D.) | North Star Athletic Association | North Star Meet Champion |
| Doane (Neb.) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| Dordt (Iowa) | Great Plains Athletic Conference | GPAC Meet Champion |
| Eastern Oregon | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Cascade Meet Champion |
| Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | California Pacific Conference | Cal Pac Meet Champion |
| Goshen (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Haskell (Kan.) | Continental Athletic Conference | CAC Meet Champion |
| Huntington (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| Indiana Wesleyan | Crossroads League | Crossroads League Meet Champion |
| Kansas Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | KCAC Meet Runner-Up |
| Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | At-Large |
| Milligan (Tenn.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | AAC Meet Champion |
| Montana Tech | Frontier Conference | At-Large |
| Montreat (N.C.) | Appalachian Athletic Conference | AAC Meet Runner-Up |
| Multnomah (Ore.) | Cascade Collegiate Conference | Host Berth |
| Oklahoma City | Sooner Athletic Conference | Sooner Meet Champion |
| Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | At-Large |
| Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | Red River Athletic Conference | RRAC Meet Champion |
| Philander Smith (Ark.) | Gulf Coast Athletic Conference | GCAC Meet Champion |
| Rio Grande (Ohio) | River States Conference | At-Large |
| Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | Frontier Conference | At-Large |
| Saint Mary (Kan.) | Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | KCAC Meet Champion |
| Shawnee State (Ohio) | River States Conference | River States Meet Champion |
| Southeastern (Fla.) | The Sun Conference | The Sun Meet Champion |
| St. Francis (Ill.) | Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference | CCAC Meet Champion |
| Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads League | At-Large |
| The Master's (Calif.) | Golden State Athletic Conference | GSAC Meet Champion |
| William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States Athletic Conference | SSAC Meet Champion |
| William Woods (Mo.) | American Midwest Conference | AMC Meet Champion |