Ten additional at-large individuals will get to experience Nike Cross Nationals this year

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Nike announced Wednesday that in addition to the automatically qualifying teams (two from each region), auto qualifying individuals (top five not on an advancing team), and four at-large teams, there will be five boys and five girls awarded spots on the starting line Dec. 1 at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore. 

The additions will expand the fields just a bit and give some additional deserving athletes -- from a loaded region, perhaps -- a chance to compete at Glendoveer Golf Course.

The event was team-only until top individuals were added in 2009, which changed the dynamic of the meet. In recent years, the top individual qualifiers have created a championship worthy race at the front of NXN. 

In 2017, the top eight finishers in the NXN boys championship were individual qualifiers. 

In 2016, only one of the top 18 girls across the finish line factored into the team scoring. 

This December marks the 15th Nike-sponsored high school cross country championship. It began as Nike Team Nationals in 2004.

Eight Nike Cross Regional qualifying races -- Northwest, Southwest, South, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, Heartland and New York -- plus the California state meet data merge (since there is no California region championship meet) are used to select 18 automatically qualifying teams. A committee selects the final four at-large teams. 

This year, the selections won't end there!  

Below is the official press release regarding the at-large individual expansion:

Nike is excited to announce the addition of an at-large individual bid to the selection process for the 2018 Nike Cross Nationals, held on December 1st, 2018. Invitations will be extended to five male and five female eligible cross-country athletes. The selection will take place on November 24th, following the last Nike Cross Regional event. 

The traditional format of automatic individual qualifiers, automatic team qualifiers, and at-large team selections will remain unchanged. 

For more information about this topic, visit www.nikecrossnationals.com