MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – An incredible breakthrough campaign for Wesleyan women's cross country's
Miranda Graves '23 isn't over yet as the junior qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship slated for Saturday, November 20 at the Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville. Graves will compete as an individual after her ninth place finish in the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday from Harkness Park.
Graves is one of 70 individuals joining lineups from a list of 32 teams that will compete at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. The qualifying standards allow the first seven student-athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, to gain selection to participate in each championship (men and women). Graves' ninth place finish was plenty to earn her a qualifying spot as she becomes Wesleyan's first individual competitor at a NCAA Championship meet since Julia Mark '13 in the 2012 season.
Graves has been nothing short of outstanding this season for Wesleyan as she has molded herself into one of the premier talents in the region. She has placed first on the team in all six meets this season, beginning with an individual title at the Trinity Invitational to start the year. She followed with a sixth place showing at the Little 3 Championship and then timed in with a personal-best 6k time of 22:07.4 at the Paul Short Run to place 34
th overall. Graves earned Second Team All-NESCAC honors with an 11
th place finish at the conference championship meet and she followed with an All-Region performance last weekend.
The women's race will begin at 11 AM on Saturday as Graves looks to close out a stellar campaign with another great performance, this time on a national stage against the best competition across the nation.
