University of Tennessee Athletics
UT's Spooner Gets NCAA Nod
November 14, 2010 | Cross Country
Nov. 14, 2010
NCAA Cross Country Championships Qualifiers 
By Eric Trainer, Associate Director of Media Relations
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee senior cross country runner Michael Spooner has been a three-time All-SEC and All-South Region honoree during his career. On Sunday night, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee helped him add a new accomplishment to his impressive résumé - NCAA qualifier.
The native of Springfield, Va., and Big Orange team captain was one of five men from the NCAA South Region to be awarded at-large berths to the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be held on Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind. UT's lone qualifier for the meet, he will be the first Vol since 2005 to run in the national championship meet.
"I'm very happy for Michael," UT Men's Cross Country Coach George Watts said. "His hard work and perseverance really paid off, and he's very deserving of this opportunity."
Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished among the top 25 in their region, with Spooner carding a career-best placing (11th) and time (30:27.24) at the 10,000-meter distance.
Thirty-one teams were chosen to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.
Indiana State University will host the NCAA meet a week from Monday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course, located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute. The women's race is slated to begin at 12:08 p.m. Eastern time, followed by the men's race at approximately 12:48 p.m.
A live webcast of the championships will be broadcast from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 22, on NCAA.com. Additionally, highlights from the championships will be included as part of the CBS NCAA Fall Seasonal Show scheduled to air on Dec. 18 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET on CBS HD.
