INDIANAPOLIS -- Bates men's cross country received the 11th team invitation to the NCAA Division III Championships in program history on Sunday, a day after placing second at the NCAA East Regionals. 

In his first season as a head coach, Danny Feldman and the Bobcats will compete for the national championship this Saturday at Forest Akers East Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

For the fourth straight season, and for the fifth time ever, Bates' women's and men's teams both received at-large invitations. The women's race will begin at 11am Eastern, followed by the men's race at noon. Olivet College and the Greater Lansing Sports Authority are hosting the championships 

The Bobcats' all-region trio of senior Ryan Smith (Westport, Conn.), sophomore Ned Farrington (Cohasset, Mass.), and senior Eli Boesch Dining (Concord, N.H.), which finished 11th-13th, respectively, in the final standings of Saturday's East Regionals, lead Bates into next week's national championship meet.

Bates will also be represented by fellow all-region selections, junior Victor Kering (Eldoret, Kenya), sophomore Krishna Kakani (Monroe, N.J.) and senior Sam Kartsonis (Narberth, Pa.), as well as sophomore Andrew Mottur (Rumford, R.I.) and sophomore Ben Huston (Vergennes, Vt.).

Previous team trips to the Division III Championships netted the Bates men a 12th-place finish out of 39 teams in 1975; sixth place among 52 teams in 1977; 10th-place finish out of 24 teams in 1999; 19th place out of 24 in 2004; seventh place out of 32 in 2011; a program-best sixth place out of 32 in 2012; 24th place out of 32 in 2013; 26th place out of 32 in 2018; 32nd place in 2019; and 26th place out of 32 in 2021. No NCAA Championships were held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

A live webstream of the championships will occur on www.NCAA.com beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.