The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the

cross country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

championship held by the

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

each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and individual runners qualify for the championship at regional competitions approximately a week before the national championships. The championship has been held annually since 1981. The reigning national champions are the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

Qualifying

Teams compete in one of nine regional championships to qualify. The top two teams automatically advance, and 13 additional teams are chosen as at-large selections. In addition to the 31 teams, 38 individual runners qualify for the national championship.

History

The Division I national championship race included 13 teams in 1981, 16 teams from 1982 to 1988 and 22 teams from 1989 to 1997. Beginning in 1998, the national championship race has included 31 teams. The race distance from 1981 to 1999 was . Since 2000 the race distance has been .Division I All Time Championship Records and Results

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 and ...

. Retrieved February 27, 2011. Cross country was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Inter ...

for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same twelve (and other) sports; however, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA conquered the AIAW and usurped its authority and membership. Villanova has won more NCAA Division I women's titles (9) than any other school, followed by BYU and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

with 5. BYU and

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

have competed in the most NCAA Division I women's championships (25). Villanova has had the most individual NCAA Division I women's cross country champions (9).

Past champions

''The championship race distance was 5,000 meters from 1981 to 1999, and has been 6,000 meters since the 2000 race.'' *A time highlighted in ██ indicates an NCAA championship event record time for that distance at the time. *A † indicates the all-time NCAA championship event record for that distance.

Titles

Team titles

*''List updated through the 2021 Championships.''

Individual titles

*''List updated through the 2021 Championships.''

Appearances

*''List updated through the 2014 Championships.''

Most team appearances

Records

*Best Team Score: 35 **

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

(1981; Eileen O'Connor–3, Lesley Welch–4, Lisa Welch–6, Jill Haworth–8, Marisa Schmitt–15) *Most Individual Titles: 3 (tie) ** Sally Kipyego,

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas ...

(2006, 2007, and 2008) *Best Individual Time, 5,000 meters: 15:59.86 ** Vicky Huber, Villanova (1989) *Best Individual Time, 6,000 meters: 19:19.42 ** Ednah Kurgat,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

(2017)

References

External links

NCAA Women's Cross Country
{{Major women's sport leagues in North America Division I Women's sports competitions in the United States Crosscountry Women's athletics competitions