Kyle Murray Qualifies for 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championship :: Senior Co-Captain Becomes First Hawk to Make NCAAs Since 2003

Nov. 16, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.--Saint Joseph's senior co-captain Kyle Murray qualified for the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships thanks to his performance on Saturday at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. Murray was 13th in the Regional and was officially entered into the National Championship on Sunday when the NCAA announced the 31 teams and its additional 38 individual qualifiers.

Murray will toe the line at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute on November 24. The men's race kicks off at 12:48 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network.

Murray is the first SJU qualifier since 2003 when Andre Laboy made an appearance in the National Championship that season, finishing 76th.

Although Murray ran an excellent race at Princeton's West Windsor Fields course, his fate concerning the NCAA Championship was uncertain until Sunday evening.

When the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee selected Villanova as an at-large team to the 31-team field, Murray's status as an individual qualifier became automatic after the day's wait.

In addition to two automatic team qualifiers--Georgetown and Penn State--the top four individuals not on advancing teams also are entered into the National Championship. After Saturday's race, Murray was the fifth such athlete and had to wait until today's announcement to see if he would join the field on November 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Villanova's Hugo Beamish was the runner up in the Regional, but when the Wildcats were one of the 13 at-large contingents named to the Championship, Beamish's status as an individual qualifier changed, allowing Murray to be the Mid-Atlantic's final Regional qualifier.

Murray joins Princeton harriers, Michael Maag and Brian Leung as well as Alex Lundy of Maryland as the Mid-Atlantic's representatives.

This will be the 11th time in program history that a Hawk harrier will participate in the National Championship. The best finish by an SJU athlete is 67th (Karl Savage, 2000), while the team made back-to-back showings in 1955 and 1956.

Murray-- under the tutelage of head coach Mike Glavin--is the fourth Saint Joseph's runner to make it all the way to the NCAA showcase.