INDIANAPOLIS - Four members of the Columbia cross country team are officially headed to the NCAA Championships after their performances at the Northeast Regional Friday. Victoria Patterson, Phoebe Anderson and Tyler Berg each picked up automatic berths, while Elia Ton-That earned an at-large berth, announced on Saturday evening's selection show.
The trio of Patterson, Anderson and Ton-That placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, out of 254 runners to propel the Lions' women to a third-place finish. Patterson and Anderson will both be making their second trip to NCAA's. Patterson qualified for the event in 2020-21 while running for Duke before transferring to Columbia. Anderson secured a spot last fall as a first-year with the Lions
Berg will also return to the NCAA's for the second time following his third-place finish in the 10K race, crossing the tape in 29:26.2. He was impressive the entire race, running in the lead pack the whole way and sitting no worse than fourth at any of the splits.
Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 of their regions.
Oklahoma State University will host the championships, Saturday, November 19, at The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The women's race will begin at 10:20 a.m. Eastern Time, followed by the men's race at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time.
Admission to the event will be $10 per person. Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting ncaatickets.com. NCAA cross country fans not in attendance can catch all the action live on ESPNU and the ESPN App beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, November 19.
