Sioux Center, Iowa — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its list of qualifiers for the 2021 men’s and women’s cross country national championship and the Dordt University programs will compete in Vancouver, Wash.
The Defender women earned one of the 20 automatic bids into this year’s championship by winning the GPAC Championship, held last weekend in Orange City, Iowa. Hastings, the GPAC runner-up, also qualified.
The 2021 NAIA Championship will be the 10th straight and 13th overall that Dordt will compete in as a team. The Defenders have sent individuals to run nine additional years, making this the 22nd overall appearance for the Dordt women’s program.
Dordt Head Coach Nate Wolf has guided seven Defender women’s teams to the NAIA Championship since taking over the program in 2015.
The Defenders finished eighth out of 34 teams at last year’s championship, held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Their best finish (5th) was in 2014.
The Dordt men earned one of the 22 automatic bids into the championship field, doing so by way of winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship.
This marks the fourth straight year, and eighth overall, the Defender Men’s team has qualified for the national meet. Dordt has sent individuals to compete at nationals 16 times, adding up to be the 24th year the Defender men’s program will be represented at the championship.
Dordt’ best finish was a fifth place showing in 2018; the Defenders placed 16th in 2019, the last time the championship was held at the Fort Vancouver Historic Site, and 13th last season.
The 66th annual event will be held on Friday, Nov. 19 at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course.
