NCAA Cross Country Championship Page | ECAC Championship Information

PHILADELPHIA – Meghan McGlinchey will compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday while her teammates head up to Bronx, N.Y. for its final meet of the season at the ECAC Championships.

McGlinchey became the first La Salle women's cross country runner to earn a bid to the national championships since Rachel Papin in 2007. Her second place finish (20:23, 6K) at the Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday is the highest an Explorer woman has ever finished at a regional event.

Head coach Dan Ireland believes McGlinchey is primed for the big stage and has put in the preparation to succeed.

“It [NCAA's] is something that we have been preparing for all year,” Ireland said. “Our goal at the beginning of the season was to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She has run extremely well over the last two races and that has increased her confidence level as to how she feels about the race this weekend.”

The senior finished second (17:03.3, 5K) at the Atlantic 10 Championships on October 27, leading the Explorers to a second-place team finish.

“We are looking for a top-40 finish,” Ireland said, when asked about expectations. “That would earn her All-American status and that would make her the first Women's Cross Country All-American ever at La Salle.”

The rest of Ireland's squad will make its way up to the ECAC Championships, where they finished second a year ago.

“The girls are excited to race again after their great race this past weekend at regionals,” Ireland said. “We will be running without four of our top seven runners from the regional meet (McGlinchey, Lutz, Gallagher, Strycharz) so some of our other girls will get the opportunity to step up.”