CANTON, Ga. (November 20, 2024) – The Southern Athletic Association saw three schools qualify a total of seven runners for the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championships.
 
SAA champion Berry led the way with two men’s runners and two women’s participants. Centre has a women’s qualifier for the third-straight season and two Oglethorpe men qualified for the championship.
 
The event will be held Saturday, November 23 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.  
 
Women:
Anna Ayers, Berry
Anna Rose, Berry
Sophie Bouldin, Centre
 
Men:
Troy Blackwood, Berry
Tucker Wright, Berry
Zachary Benner, Oglethorpe
Ashton Deriso, Oglethorpe
 
Bouldin, the SAA Runner-of-the-Year after winning the conference title at the beginning of the month, is making a second-straight trip to the NCAA Championship. The junior finished seventh a very fast NCAA Division III Great Lakes Championship, posting a time of 22:06. She was 89^th at the national championship last year, stopping the clock at 22:24.
 
Berry teammates Anna Ayers and Anna Rose crossed the line nearly simultaneously at the NCAA Division III South Region Championship with Ayers finishing 10^th in 22:16.3 and Rose 11^th in 22:16.7 to earn spots at nationals. Both are making first trips to the NCAA National Championship. Ayers was the runner-up at the SAA championship (22:14) while Rose finished third (22:26).
 
The Berry men were just short of the team advancing to the national championship after a fourth-place finish at the South Region Championship. A pair of individuals will represent the Vikings in Tucker Wright and Troy Blackwood. Wright was the runner-up at regionals, posting a time of 24:36 while Blackwood took 19^th in 25:26. Oglethorpe boasts two runners advancing to the national championship. SAA Runner-of-the-Year Ashton Deriso was ninth at regionals (25:12) and Zachary Benner 14^th (25:19) to punch their tickets to nationals.