Katy Kunc, Jacob Thomson Confirmed as UK’s NCAA XC Championships Qualifiers

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky juniors Katy Kunc and Jacob Thomson’s spots in the NCAA Cross Country Championships were confirmed as the full meet field was announced Saturday.

Kunc booked her spot in her first NCAA Championship field with her third-place finish at the Southeast Regional, Friday.

She became the first Kentucky women’s team member to earn a NCAA individual bid since Cally Macumber in 2013.

Kunc earned the Southeastern Conference Bronze Medal, two weeks ago.

Thomson made the NCAA Championships individually for the second year in a row. He was initially left out of the field, but further inquisitiveness showed the NCAA Division I Selection Committee omitted him from the field.

Thomson placed seventh in the men’s race at the Southeast Regional on Friday. 

UK has not qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team since the women’s squad did so in 2008. The Kentucky men’s team last made NCAAs in 2003 – placing 28th with 642 points.

The Kentucky women’s team finished third overall at Regionals on Friday, missing a spot in the NCAA Championships field by one point.

The UK men’s team finished fifth.

In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals qualified in their respective NCAA regional competitions.

Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.

Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their regions.

Indiana State University will host the championships, Saturday, November 19, at LaVern Gibson Championship Course at Wabash Valley Family Sport Center located in Terre Haute, Indiana. The women’s race will begin at 11 a.m. ET, followed by the men’s race at noon. 

A live webcast of the championships will be broadcast on NCAA.com.

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