Despite A No. 10 Ranking, Cougars Not Invited To Run

After putting together their finest season in more than a decade, the Washington State men’s cross country squad, ranked 10th nationally, is left to ponder what more it could do.

The Cougars, who finished third behind defending national champion and second-ranked Stanford and No. 6 Oregon during the West Regional Championships Nov. 15, did not receive one of the four at-large berths to the 1997 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Washington State is the highest ranked team not invited to the national meet to be held Nov. 24 at Greenville, S.C.

“It will take me days to swallow this,” said WSU assistant coach Li Li. “It’s a huge disappointment.

“Something has to be done about the selection process and criterion,” added Li. “Twenty-two teams go to the NCAA meet and we’re ranked 10th and not going.”

The Cougars do have small consolation. Sophomore Bernard Lagat will be there as Pacific-10 Conference champion. He finished second overall at the West Regional with a 10,000 meter time of 30:33. Lagat is WSU’s first NCAA qualifier since 1993 when Josephat Kapkory was crowned champion and Patrick Muturi finished 15th overall to garner All-America honors.

Five unranked teams (Florida, Iona, Minnesota, Navy and Texas-San Antonio) earned automatic spots by finishing second in their respective districts.

, DataTimes