Nov. 18, 2002

Junior Jerry Claunch (West Chester, OH/Lakota East) found out on Monday that he has earned an automatic bid to Terre Haute, Ind. for the NCAA Championships at 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 25.

Claunch led Miami with a time of 31:20.7 for a 25th place finish at the NCAA Division I Great Lakes Region Championships at Purdue's Varsity Cross Country Course in West Lafayette, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 16. It was the first time this season that Claunch finished first for Miami.

Claunch received an automatic bid when the Notre Dame and Michigan State squads earned at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. The Wisconsin Badgers, ranked fourth in the country, and Eastern Michigan, ranked seventh in the nation, earned the automatic bids to the NCAA Championships. The Great Lakes Region received seven at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. Beyond the team competition, the top four individuals whose teams did not qualify for the NCAA Championship got a bid to run in Terre Haute. Since Notre Dame and Michigan State, who both tied for eighth in the Regional earned bids, their runners received automatic bids, leaving Claunch as one of the top four runners whose team did not receive a spot in Monday's race.

Miami's men's cross country team placed 11th out of 29 teams.