The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB's Elizabeth Ambrus Receives Bid To NCAA National Meet
11/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 14, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS ----- The NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee announced that UAB junior Elizabeth Ambrus has been named an individual qualifier for the 2005 Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships to be held on Monday, Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Ambrus, who became the first UAB runner to win the Conference USA individual title earlier this season, is the second Blazer athlete to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Melissa Hopkins was a qualifier in 1998.
"This is a great chance for Elizabeth," said UAB head coach Ray Stanfield. "She had a disappointing regional in 2004, so that makes this extra special for her. This is a well-deserved opportunity and I look for her to be right in the hunt."
Ambrus helped UAB to its highest-ever finish in the 2005 NCAA South Regionals Saturday morning. She led the Blazers with an eighth-place finish, running the 6K course in 20:53.12, and was named an All-South region performer in the event. In the 2004 regional, Ambrus was running third in the race but ran off course and was disqualified, thus ending her chance to run at the 2004 National Championship.
In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions. 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, the first four athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team and two additional qualifiers, were selected to participate in each championship. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 in their region.
Indiana State University will host the Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The men's race will begin at noon (ET) followed by the women's race at 1:15 p.m.
