Nov. 17, 2003
IOWA CITY – Sophomore Brian Rae will represent the University of Iowa at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Cedar Falls, IA, on November 24. Rae’s seventh-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional qualified him for the championships as an individual participant. The Naperville, IL, native finished the course in 31:19, the 17th fastest 10,000-meter time in school history.
“We are very excited about Brian representing Iowa at the NCAA Championships. Qualifying for nationals as an individual is a tremendous accomplishment. At the beginning of the season I anticipated Brian would be our most improved athlete but now he is making a run at becoming our most valuable performer. He deserves this as much as anyone because he has made great improvements throughout the year,” commented Head Coach Larry Wieczorek.
Iowa automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships a year ago by winning the Midwest Regional, but narrowly missed a return trip to the championships by placing third overall this season. Only the top two teams from each regional championship earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.