UCLA cross country fails to qualify for NCAA Championships

UCLA’s men’s and women’s cross country teams concluded their season on Friday after their finishes at the NCAA West Regionals failed to qualify them for the NCAA Championships.

The men’s team, led by senior Nohe Lema, finished in sixth place at the race while the women finished 12th, with redshirt junior Kelsey Smith earning UCLA’s fastest time. Only the top two finishing teams at each Regional were guaranteed spots at the NCAA Championships, with the remaining teams selected at-large.

After a strong start to the season by both teams, as the men placed first in their first two races and the women finished first in their first three meets, both teams trailed off in the subsequent weeks. Both teams finished 27th at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Oct. 19 and seventh out of 12 at the Pac-12 Championships on Nov. 2.

Smith provided one bright spot for the Bruins – her 11th-place finish and 19:46 time in her 6-kilometer race was the best finish by a UCLA runner since 2006, when Allie Bohannon also finished 11th. Despite her performance, Smith was not one of the four women selected as individual qualifiers in the NCAA Championships. UCLA did not have any men chosen as individual qualifiers, either.

Compiled by Kevin Bowman, Bruin Sports senior staff.