Fayette, Mo. - After placing fifth in the 2020 Heart of America Athletic Conference cross country championships in Baldwin City, Kan. in Nov., Central Methodist senior men's cross country runner Radovan Kemboi has qualified for the 2020 men's cross country national championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Eldoret, Kenya native competed in four of five races for the Eagles this fall, posting Top-3 finishes at the Columbia College Invite (9/19) and again on Oct. 23. Kemboi also finished in 11th place at the highly competitive NAIA Seminole Valley Invite in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Oct. 10, an event that featured more than 200 runners. 

With his fifth-place finish at the conference championships in Nov., Kemboi earned Heart All-Conference for the third-straight season after claiming the individual title as a junior in 2019. In addition to his all-conference honors, Kemboi now becomes a three-time national qualifier, with his highest finish coming as a sophomore in 2018. 

The field is made up of 25 automatic qualifiers, one host berth, and 10 at-large berths. A team can automatically qualify by winning the conference championship meet or by being the meet runner-up (for a conference with more than one automatic qualifier). Baker secured an automatic qualifier slot as the conference champion, while Grand View earned an automatic qualifier title as the conference runner-up and Mount Mercy secured the host berth.

In addition to the team qualifiers and at-large bids, 96 athletes will compete as individual qualifiers. Six athletes from four Heart programs will race at the national event including; Kemboi, Christian Davis (Evangel), Dillon Grover (Graceland), Grant Dewitt (Evangel), Nathan Straubel (Park), and Shane Burns (Evangel).

This year's national championships which have traditionally been held in late November are now rescheduled for April 9, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

To view additional notes and information on qualification, please see below.

• This is the second year that the championship will be hosted in Cedar Rapids. Mount Mercy University (Iowa) serves as the host for the national championship.
• The field is made up of 25 automatic qualifiers, one host berth and 10 at-large berths. A team can automatically qualify by winning the conference championship meet or by being the meet runner-up (for a conference with more than one automatic qualifier).
• Mount Mercy (Iowa) received the host berth. 
• The 10 at-large berths were determined by a selection committee. 
• In addition to the team qualifiers and at-large bids, 96 athletes will compete as individual qualifiers. 
• The 2019 men's cross country national champions, Oklahoma City, returns to the championship this year. 
• The race will be broadcast for the first time this year on the NAIA Network. To access the live video stream and purchase a pass CLICK HERE

To view the complete release from the NAIA, please click here.

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