NCAA Cross Country Finals Will Have Strong ACC Presence

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) –  Ten Atlantic Coast Conference teams are scheduled to compete in the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships next Saturday (Nov. 20) at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

Eight ACC teams (five women’s and three men’s) earned automatic spots in the NCAA Championships by placing first or second in their respective regionals during Friday’s competition. The Florida State and North Carolina men were announced as at-large team selections on Saturday, and NC State’s JP Flavin earned a spot in the men’s field as an individual selection.

ACC teams that will compete in the NCAA finals, along with their regional finish are listed below, with asterisks indicating at-large selections:

Great Lakes

Women

First: Notre Dame

Men

First: Notre Dame

 

Northeast

Women

Second: Syracuse

Men

First: Syracuse

 

South

Women

Second: Florida State

Men

Third: Florida State*

 

Southeast

Women

First: North Carolina State

Second: North Carolina

Men

First: Wake Forest

Third: North Carolina*

 

Please see here for the complete 2021 NCAA Cross Championships men’s and women’s fields.

 

The ACC delivered an impressive collective showing at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships (held last March following postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic), with the Notre Dame men and NC State women each placing second in the respective team scoring and Florida State’s Adriaan Wildschutt earning the men’s silver medal.

The Fighting Irish men and Wolfpack women both returned all of their leading runners this season, and FSU’s Wildschutt will enter next Saturday riding the momentum of an ACC Championship and Friday’s winning South Regional 10K time of 29:07.1.

Please see here for the complete recap of all of Friday’s NCAA Regional action, as covered by the USTFCCCA

The NC State women, whose 35 all-time NCAA Championship berths are the most of any program nationally, hold a No. 1 national ranking in the most recent USTFCCCA poll, followed by Florida State and North Carolina (tied at No. 9), No. 17 Syracuse and No. 25 Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame men hold a No. 6 national ranking, with Florida State and Syracuse tied at No. 23.

Florida State will serve as the host school for the 2021 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. It will be the second DI NCAA…