Waggoner An Automatic Qualifier For NCAA Championships

DURHAM, N.C. ? Blue Devil sophomore Bo Waggoner automatically qualified for the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships, to be held Mon., Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind., at the Lavern Gibson championship cross country course.

It will be the first trip to nationals for Waggoner, who advances to the NCAA Championships as an individual and will be the first Duke runner on the men's side to reach the meet since Nick Schneider did so in 2004.

The top two teams from each region advanced to the meet, in addition to the top four individual finishers in each region who did not advance with their teams. There were also 13 at-large bids for a total of 255 runners.

Waggoner earned All-Southeast Region honors at last Saturday's regional meet in Clemmons, N.C., leading the Blue Devils to a fourth-place finish with his 10K time of 30:43, good for 11th individually in the field of 29 teams.

“Bo has improved steadily throughout the year and is peaking at the perfect time,” said Director of Track & Field Norm Ogilvie. “As a sophomore it is great for him to gain experience at the championship level.”

The NCAA Championships will kick off at 12:48 p.m. on Nov. 24, and will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.

The top 40 performers at the meet will earn All-America honors.

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