The 1981 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 43rd annual

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

and the 1st annual

NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and ...

to determine the team and individual national champions of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the

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. For the first time, a women's national championship was held alongside the men's meet. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships. Held on November 23, 1981, the combined meet was hosted for the second consecutive year by

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

at the Echo Hills Golf Course in

Park City, Kansas Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,333. History The first Park City was founded in 1870. Located to the northwest of Wichita, it w ...

. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles). The men's team national championship was retained again by the

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

, their seventh, and fourth consecutive, overall title. The individual championship was won by South African runner Matthews Motshwarateu, also from

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

, with a time of 28:45.80. By placing all of their top 5 in the top 8 finishers, UTEP's score remains the best team score in event history. The UTEP team, composed of African recruits, was a dominant group of talent, but coach Ted Banks, who had assembled the team was criticized for his recruiting practices and scholarship promises. Within a year, he had resigned his position as coach. The inaugural women's team national championship was won by the Virginia Cavaliers, their first. The individual championship was won by Betty Springs, from

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, with a time of 16:19.00. Given that this was the first edition of this race, Springs' time set the event's distance record.

Qualification

*All Division I cross country teams were eligible to qualify for the meet through their placement at various regional qualifying meets. In total, 23 teams and 191 runners contested the men's championship while 13 teams and 113 runners contested the women's title.

Men's title

*Distance: 10,000 meters (6.21 miles)

Men's Team Result (Top 10)

Men's Individual Result (Top 10)

Women's title

*Distance: 5,000 meters (3.11 miles)

Women's Team Result (Top 10)

Women's Individual Result (Top 10)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships NCAA Cross Country Championships NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Park City, Kansas Track and field in Kansas Wichita State University