Hajel & Smulra to Run in 2023 NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championships
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Moravian University junior Nathan Hajel and sophomore Tara Smurla have qualified as individual competitors for the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships being hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 18.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Moravian University junior Nathan Hajel and sophomore Tara Smurla have qualified as individual competitors for the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships being hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 18.
Hajel qualified for the meet by finishing as part of the top seven individuals not on a qualifying team at Saturday's NCAA Division III Metro Regional hosted by Rowan University at the Gloucester County DREAM Park. Hajel, who will be making his first appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, was eighth overall in the Metro Regional race in a personal best time of 25:05.8 on the 8,000-meter course to garner All-Region honors for the third consecutive year. Hajel will be one of two Landmark Conference runners at the NCAA Championships along with Ian Hopkins from The Catholic University of America.
Hajel is the seventh Greyhound male to qualify for the NCAA Division III Cross Country National Championships, and the first since Shane Houghton in 2021.
Smurla, who will be making her first appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships as well, was fifth overall in the Metro Regional race with a personal best time of 22:10.6 on the 6,000-meter course to earn All-Region honors for the second straight year. Smurla will be one of three Landmark Conference runners at the NCAA Championships with Elizabethtown College's Kelty Oaster and Catholic's Kate Inglis also running.
Smurla is the 32nd Greyhound to run at the NCAA Championships and first since Natalie Stabilito in 2021. From 1993 to 2001, Moravian qualified as a team with seven student-athletes racing each year, and the Hounds finished third in the nation three times – 1993, 1995 and 2001 to go with top ten finishes in 1994, 1997 and 2000.
The top 35 finishers in the Division III Championships are recognized as All-Americans by the NCAA, and the United States Track and Field Association selects the top 15 for All-America honors.
The men's 2023 NCAA Division III Championship race will be run at Big Spring High School and is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday with the women's national championship race to follow at 12:00 p.m. The races will be broadcast live on https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2023/11/18, and live results will be available at https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=5904.
