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The Basics
MEDIA COVERAGE:
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LIVE STATS
9 a.m. PT
Wabash Family Sports Center | Terre Haute, Ind.
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 to compete in the team competition.
Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in the championships through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.
Eric Causey, a sophomore from Encinitas, Calif., placed 11th in the West Region and earned an elusive fifth individual at-large bid from the stout region.
For individuals, the top four individuals not on a qualifying team at the regional are auto-qualifiers, and then they select two individuals for at-large berths from around the country," coach
Helen Lehman-Winters explained. "Typically, they would look to the fifth individual in each region, and then select two of those individuals, so it's unusual to be selected in this process. We felt that Eric had a pretty good chance after scouring the region results, and hoped the committee felt the same way. We were obviously estatic that Eric was selected."
Indiana State will host the championships on Nov. 23, at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.
Potent Quotables
"Eric is a competitor and whatever he has he puts on the line. One of his biggest strengths is his mental approach to racing and competing. We're excited to go into this next weekend and have him step on the line and see what he can do. From a mental standpoint, he could not be in a better place than he is in right now.
"It's an honor for him to compete in the NCAA Championships in his second year of cross country. He has a huge future ahead of him and I think that he's definitely a kid that is going to be a player at the highest level in the future." -
Lehman-Winters on the sophomore's strengths and competitive drive
National Spotlight
Causey will be the first male to represent the program at the NCAA Championships, and Lehman-Winters is confident this will not be his last trip to the national stage.
"We are so excited to have Eric represent the University of San Francisco at the NCAA Championships and I could not think of a better person to be our first male qualifier," she said. "We've had talented males in our program over the past couple years, and we've had several that have been scratching right at the surface in terms of competing and getting to the NCAA Championships. For us to be represented at that level on the men's side is an important step in the development of our program, and Eric is going to be a big-time competitor."
This will be Causey's second trip to nationals in his collegiate career, after participating in the 2013 NCAA Track & Field Qualifying Rounds in the 10,000 meters. He is the school record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
How He Got Here
Eric Causey • So. • Encinitas, Calif.
2013 Highlights: USTFCCCA All-West Region Team ... won two meets, the USF Invitational and Bronco Invitational ... took second at the WCC Championships turning in a season-best 23:14 ... placed 11th at the NCAA West Regionals, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships as an individual competitor.
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