Waters Advances to NCAAs

Nov. 17, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. – For the fifth time in the last six years, the University of Oklahoma women's cross country program will be represented at the NCAA National Championships as sophomore Kelly Waters qualified as an individual competitor Monday.

Waters, who finished 10th in Saturday's NCAA Midwest Regional, qualified individually for the NCAA National Championship as one of the top-four finishers not on an advancing team after Midwest Region teams Nebraska and Iowa were selected as at-large teams Monday by the NCAA.

Waters finished the wind-swept 6,000-meter regional race in a time of 21 minutes and nine seconds. The regional finish marked an improvement of 51 spots for Waters as the 2008 All-Big 12 honoree finished 61st in 2007.

Waters is just one of four individuals from the Big 12 Conference to secure an at-large spot, defeating two of the other three individuals at the 2008 Big 12 Championships en route to a fifth-place finish.

With the advancement, Waters becomes just OU's third competitor in the NCAA National Championships since the inception of the Big 12 as Jessica Eldridge (2003, '04, '06, '07) and Melissa Gilbertson (1996) had previously accomplished the feat. Since 1981, the Oklahoma program has been represented in the NCAA National Championships 17 times.

Waters will look to become Oklahoma's seventh runner in program history to garner NCAA All-American status in the event and the first since Eldridge in 2006. The top-40 finishers in the event earn the honor.

Indiana State University will host the 2008 NCAA Championships, November 24, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women's race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. EST. The race will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network and streamed online via NCAA.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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