Ephrata graduate to NAIA cross country nationals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Ephrata High School graduate Eric Burck is one of 67 individual qualifiers for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics cross country championships to be held on Saturday, Nov. 17.

The 52nd annual men's championships will take place at the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisc. Burck, who competes for Concordia University in Portland, Ore., was the Cavaliers' leading runner in all six of their races this fall and took sixth place at the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships on Oct. 20.

On Nov. 3, Burck improved his standing by finishing fourth overall - first among Cascade Conference participants - at the NAIA Region I championships.

This year's 8,000-meter national championships feature 28 teams, including 13 regional champions and 15 at-large bids, as well as 67 individual qualifers.

Burck joins Cascade Conference qualifiers such as Oregon Tech's Kory Humbertson, Southern Oregon's Kevin Jeffers and Cameron Kreuz, and Northwest's Leonard Randall.

Malone College of Ohio comes into nationals as the top-ranked team through all 10 Top 25 polls, and is the favorite to capture the team title.

Kenosha, the nation's only pure cross country course with its long-standing history as a community that embraces the sport, has hosted 26 NAIA championship cross country events from 1976-1979, and 1981-2002.