The #22 Middlebury men's cross country team has earned an at-large selection to the NCAA Championship. The Panthers will make their 15th appearance in the national invite when they head to Spartanburg, South Carolina for the event on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers are seeking the program's first NCAA crown and have placed in the top 10 spots on two occasions.
• Middlebury's best finish at the national invite came with a seventh-place showing in 2013.
• The squad has enjoyed a strong season, tallying four top-three finishes, including a third-place showing at the NCAA Mideast Regionals.
• Middlebury extended its streak of top-three finishes at the regional meet to five consecutive seasons.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Four of the five Panthers earned all-region honors on Saturday after finishing in the top 35.
• Benjamin Hughes and Owen Johnson have been the Panthers' top runners over the past few weeks. Hughes makes his third NCAA Championship appearance after logging a 133rd-place finish a year ago. The junior clocked a 25:16.8 to earn fourth at the Mideast Regional and tallied an All-NESCAC Second Team nod by finishing 12th at the conference meet.
• Johnson appears in the national lineup for the first time since 2022. Johnson was the 21st runner to cross the finish line at the NESCAC Championship and posted his initial all-region laurel after finishing 22nd at 25:40.1. The senior clocked a career-best time of 24:53.3 earlier this season at the Connecticut College Invitational.
• Cameron Miles and Ethan Sholk rounded out the all-region honorees for the Panthers. Miles secures a spot in the national lineup for the second-straight campaign and looks to build off a 19th-place showing at the regional meet after stopping the clock at    25:37.2. 
• Sholk has had a strong rookie campaign, claiming top-five finishes at the first three events of the season. The Panther crossed the line in 23rd at the regional meet (25:40.8) and 32nd at the conference championship (25:23.2). 
• Middlebury's final scorer at the regional meet was Zach Utz, who tallied a 36th-place showing (26:01.5). He also earned 40th during the NESCAC meet. Utz will make his initial appearance on the national stage.
• The final Panther with NCAA experience is Harry Griff. The senior makes his third consecutive national lineup, headlined by a 61st-place finish in the 2023 invite. 
• The rookie trio of Sullivan Dunn, Ian Larkin and Nathan Szubin rounds out the Middlebury lineup. Dunn claimed 118th in the NESCAC Championship, while Szubin and Larkin earned top-60 finishes at the regional meet.

ABOUT THE FIELD

• Wisconsin-La Crosse looks to defend its team title after securing the automatic bid in the North Regional Championships. All seven runners tallied all-region recognition, including twin brothers Grant and Aidan Matthai. The duo finished second and third in the championship a year ago, respectively.
• Wartburg claimed second in the national meet last season and returns to the field after winning the Midwest Regional crown for the second-straight year. 
• Pomona-Pitzer, who won the 2023 National Championship, earned third a season ago and looks to get back on top. The Sagehens won their eighth West Regional crown to punch their ticket to Spartanburg. 
• There will be a new individual national champion as Christian Patzka of Wisconsin-Whitewater graduated. Six of the top ten from the 2024 Championship return to the field, headlined by runner-up Mohammed Bati of Augsburg, who qualified as an individual.
• Nathan Tassey of Roger Williams qualified as an individual for the second season in a row. The two-time All-American looks to improve on his fourth-place showing last season.
• Emmanuel Leblond (Johns Hopkins) and Isaiah Hammerand (Wartburg) are the other two returners from the top ten after finishing sixth and ninth, respectively, in the 2024 national championship.
• The NESCAC will have six teams compete in the NCAA meet, as Amherst, Colby, Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan and Williams earned at-large selections. Three individuals will also represent the conference in Nathaniel Aronson and Jack Crum of Bates and Connecticut College's Ellis Iurilli-Hough.

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

• Location: Roger Milliken Cross Country Course in Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Host School: Converse University
• Start Time: 10:00 a.m. eastern
• Championship Central