GALESBURG, Ill. — The NCAA announced the field for the NCAA Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Sunday, and Knox College senior Lance Miller made the cut for the men's 8K by virtue of his finish at the Midwest Regional hosted by Wartburg College on Saturday. Miller is just the second runner from Knox ever to qualify for the national championships, male or female.

Miller placed 20th at the regional with a time of 24:56.7, earning All-Midwest Region as one of the top 35 runners, and was one of the top seven runners to finish the course who wasn't a member of a qualifying team. Host Wartburg was an automatic qualifier for winning the regional, while the University of Chicago, Loras College, North Central College and Washington University in St. Louis all received at-large bids. A total of 18 of the top 25 runners at the regional were from one of those five teams, leaving the other seven to receive at-large bids as individuals, including Miller.

The only other Prairie Fire athlete to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships was Brian Campbell in 1993. Miller has the four fastest 8K times in Knox history with a personal record of 24:28.7 set at the Midwest Conference Championships on Nov. 1, where he was the runner-up for a second straight year. 

The NCAA Championships will be hosted by Converse College and OneSpartanburg, Inc., in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at Roger Milliken Cross Country course this Saturday, Nov. 22. A live webstream will be available on NCAA.com beginning at 9 a.m. Central time through the conclusion of the awards ceremony.