INDIANAPOLIS -- Bates juniors
Jack Crum,
Leah White, and
Nathaniel Aronson have been selected to compete as individuals at this Saturday's NCAA Championships, as announced by the Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee.
Crum (Bristol, Vt.) is having a breakout season for the Bobcats, having placed 16th out of 216 runners at the NCAA East Region Championships in a personal-record 8K time of 25:06.4. That performance was 40 spots higher than he finished last year and was good for both USTFCCCA All-East Region and DIII New England Association All-New England honors. Earlier this fall he placed 31st out of 159 runners at the NESCAC Championships in 25:23.1, 41 spots higher than a year ago. Crum was fourth out of 143 runners at the Maine State Meet in 26:15.7 as the Bobcats captured the state championship. In addition to these performances, he paced the Bobcats at both the Paul Short Run and the Connecticut College Invitational this year.
White (Ann Arbor, Mich.) will compete at the NCAA Championships for the third straight season. The women's team captain took third place out of 214 runners at the NCAA East Region Championships with her 6K time of 21:28.1, good for both USTFCCCA All-East Region and DIII New England Association All-New England honors. White has led the Bobcats in every race this season, earning second team All-NESCAC honors after she placed ninth out of 147 runners at the NESCAC Championships in a personal-record time of 21:24.7, the fastest time ever run at the conference championships by a Bobcat since the race became a 6K in 2006. She was also the top DIII finisher at this year's Maine State Meet, finishing second only to a runner from the University of Maine with her time of 21:47.3.
Aronson (West Hartford, Conn.) is having an incredible campaign, having run in only two cross country meets in two years entering this season. He placed right behind Crum at this weekend's NCAA East Region Championships, finishing 17th with his time of 25:07.1, good for both USTFCCCA All-East Region and DIII New England Association All-New England honors. Earlier this fall he just missed out on All-NESCAC honors, pacing the Bobcats and finishing 16th at the NESCAC Championships in a personal-record time of 24:53.9. Aronson also led the way at the Maine State Meet for Bates, placing third individually in 26:13.3 to help the Bobcats capture the title.
Seventy individuals, the first seven student-athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate in this year's NCAA championship race. This is the first time since 1998 that Bates men's cross country has had multiple individuals selected to compete at the NCAA Championships in a year they did not qualify as a team. This is the second straight year White has qualified as an individual on the women's side. She also raced at NCAAs as a first-year when the Bobcats qualified as a team in 2023. This is the first trip to nationals for both Crum and Aronson.
Converse University and OneSpartanburg, Inc. are hosting the championships Nov. 22 at Roger Milliken Cross Country course in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The men's race will begin at 10 a.m. eastern, followed by the women's race at 11 a.m. eastern.
A live webstream of the championships will occur on NCAA.com beginning at 10 a.m. eastern time until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.
