Contact: Adam Poklop, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

NCAA Division III Qualifiers

Nov. 20, 2019 – North Central College women's cross country senior Dianne Barajas is poised to make her NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championship debut on Saturday at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky after qualifying as an individual. 

Barajas secured one of seven individual qualifier spots up for grabs at the Midwest Region Championship with a 10th-place finish and a time of 22 minutes and 30.2 seconds for 6,000-meters in Winneconne, Wisconsin on Saturday. The Cardinals took sixth-place as a team, their best regional finish in five seasons.

Her regional performance was the culmination of an outstanding senior season. Barajas earned four College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Athlete of the Week selections on the season (Sept. 10, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22) establishing her as the recipient of the most weekly awards in program history. At the CCIW Championships on Nov. 2, Barajas took first place with a season-best time of 22:19.2 and was honored as the CCIW Female Athlete of the Year, while the Cardinals placed second as a team.

This will be Barajas' first appearance at the National Championships and marks the second-straight year a North Central runner qualified for Nationals, following Madelyn Scopp's trip to the 2018 National Championship. North Central last qualified as a team in 2014 after receiving an at-large bid.

The women's race of the Division III National Championship is set for 11:45 a.m. (ET). Live results are available HERE.

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