BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Ivie Nobles and Tyler Barber qualified for the NAIA National Championships as the Bears finished in the top five in both the men's and women's AAC Championships Saturday morning.
The men finished in fourth place as a team, led by Tyler Barber's 26:42 in the 8K race. The fifth place finish was good enough for Barber to be named First-Team All-Conference. Juan Ortega finished in eighth place at 27:02 and Robert Bledsoe came in 11th at 27:12. Both runners were named Second-Team All-AAC, with Ortega qualifying as an alternate for the NAIA Championships
Ivie Nobles continued her stellar freshman campaign with an eighth place finish in the race, being named Second-Team All-Conference, missing out on the First Team by four seconds. She was the fourth fastest freshman in the conference and was the top-seeded individual qualifer out of the conference. Nobles is also the first TMU women's cross country runner to qualify for the NAIA Championships.
The NAIA Championships will be in Elsah, Illinois, on Nov. 19.
