SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – In another program first, junior Cat Dacey of the Union College women's cross country team was selected to participate in the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, to be held on Saturday, November 18 at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pa.
 
Dacey is the first runner in Union women's cross country history to qualify for the national championships as an individual and will be the first to represent the school at the national meet since 1981, when Union qualified as a team and finished sixth out of nine schools at the inaugural Division III national championships.
 
The junior is one of seven runners to qualify individually from the Mideast Region based on her 10th-place finish at Saturday's Mideast Regional Championship. The first seven student-athletes from each region who are not part of a qualifying team earned the honor of making it to the national meet.
 
Dacey has had a fantastic season so far for the Garnet Chargers, placing in the top 10 in six of her seven meets. She took home top honors at the Trinity (Conn.) Invitational and second at the RPI Harvest Classic in back-to-back weeks in September, then took fifth at the Liberty League Championships to earn the program's first-ever All-Conference first-team honor. She then placed 10th yesterday at the Mideast Regional Championships to earn the first All-Region honor in program history as well.
 
"We are so very excited that Cat has qualified for the NCAA Championships, but we are not totally surprised," said head coach Laura Nardelli. "Cat is very focused and has been a student of the sport since the day she arrived on campus. She is a person who does every little thing right to be the best athlete that she can be.

"The best thing about Cat is that she never takes herself too seriously, and understands that being a champion is a process that takes hard work, sacrifice, consistency and time. She has physical and emotional resiliency mixed with great competitive instincts that will take her very far in the sport. We can't wait for next weekend to see what that brings!"
 
Dickinson College is serving as host for the 2023 Cross Country Championships. The men's race will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern, followed by the women's race at noon Eastern. A live webstream of the championships will occur on www.NCAA.com beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern until the conclusion of the awards ceremony, and live results will also be available from Leone Timing.  
 
For a full preview of the weekend, including ticket information and a full season recap,  click here!