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They're In

Mar 7, 2021

STANFORD, Calif. – For the 27th consecutive season, both Stanford cross country teams will compete at the NCAA Championships. 

Stanford, which swept the men's and women's titles at the Pac-12 Championships in University Place, Washington, on Friday, was among the 31 teams in each gender selected by a committee on Sunday.

Stanford's 27-season streak is the longest of any program. This is the 28th consecutive season the women's team has advanced and the 27th for the men. Overall, the Cardinal women have qualified 33 times and the men 29.

The NCAA Championships will be Monday, March 15, at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course in Stillwater. The women's race is at 9:50 a.m. PT and the men's at 10:40 a.m. PT. They will air live on ESPNU. 

On Friday, Stanford captured its 22nd women's conference championship and 15th men's. It was the first time Stanford swept the conference meet since 2010 and its combined score of 58 points (28 for the men, 30 for the women) was its lowest since 2003.

Stanford has overcome much this season. Because of Santa Clara County COVID-19 restrictions, the Cardinal was unable to meet as a team until Feb. 4, the morning it flew to the Florida State Winter Classic, and raced the next day, with the men winning and women second. The first practice as a team was Feb. 8.

Until then, runners followed workout plans provided by coaches J.J. Clark, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, and Ricardo Santos, as well as from the program's performance staff. Their ability to run so well after being on their own for so long "speaks to their determination and will to improve," Clark said. 

Stanford's teams have combined for nine NCAA cross country titles. In 2019, the most recent running of the event, Stanford's women were third and the men sixth. In the USTFCCCA rankings, Stanford is No. 4 in each poll.