Cross Country: Neiva Earns At-Large Bid to Nationals
11/12/2022 8:07:00 PM | Cross Country
Neiva placed 10th at Friday’s NCAA South Central Regional Championship.
DENTON, Texas – Victor Neiva earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced Saturday.
"It's a great feeling," Neiva said. "I just want to thank my team and my coach, Erik Stevens, for making it possible."
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Neiva finished 10th on Friday at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship to garner all-region accolades for the second consecutive year, one spot out of the automatic bid to Nationals. The junior from Keller, Texas, is one of 38 individuals selected to participate in the championship through the automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their regions.
"To have that opportunity be given today and have him selected as one of the individuals just shows the dedication that he's been a part of all season long," UNT cross country coach Erik Stevens said. "He's been 100% dedicated to the process. If we go back to that article that we had written about him in the campus paper, I remember he literally said, 'I want to be an all American. I'm going to do the things that I can do to be there on my end and then trust the process.' And he's done nothing but that. He's done everything that he needs to do, and he's trusted every part of the process so far. So I'm super excited for him."
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Neiva has been at his best when the lights have been brightest, recording personal bests at both the regional and conference championships. He registered a 10K time of 30:51.4 at regionals to place 10th, and he ran an 8K time of 24:28.2 to finish third at the Conference USA Championships. He also recorded seventh and second-place finishes at the Texas A&M Invitational and UIW Twilight, respectively.
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Oklahoma State University will host the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 at The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. The men's race will begin at 10:10 a.m. CT. Admission to the event will be $10 per person, and tickets can be purchased in advance at ncaatickets.com. Action from Stillwater will be broadcast live on ESPNU and the ESPN App.
Be sure to keep an eye on MeanGreenSports.com, follow Mean Green Sports on social media @MeanGreenSports and Mean Green track & field/cross country at @MeanGreenTFXC for all of the latest information.
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"It's a great feeling," Neiva said. "I just want to thank my team and my coach, Erik Stevens, for making it possible."
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Neiva finished 10th on Friday at the NCAA South Central Regional Championship to garner all-region accolades for the second consecutive year, one spot out of the automatic bid to Nationals. The junior from Keller, Texas, is one of 38 individuals selected to participate in the championship through the automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their regions.
"To have that opportunity be given today and have him selected as one of the individuals just shows the dedication that he's been a part of all season long," UNT cross country coach Erik Stevens said. "He's been 100% dedicated to the process. If we go back to that article that we had written about him in the campus paper, I remember he literally said, 'I want to be an all American. I'm going to do the things that I can do to be there on my end and then trust the process.' And he's done nothing but that. He's done everything that he needs to do, and he's trusted every part of the process so far. So I'm super excited for him."
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Neiva has been at his best when the lights have been brightest, recording personal bests at both the regional and conference championships. He registered a 10K time of 30:51.4 at regionals to place 10th, and he ran an 8K time of 24:28.2 to finish third at the Conference USA Championships. He also recorded seventh and second-place finishes at the Texas A&M Invitational and UIW Twilight, respectively.
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Oklahoma State University will host the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 at The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. The men's race will begin at 10:10 a.m. CT. Admission to the event will be $10 per person, and tickets can be purchased in advance at ncaatickets.com. Action from Stillwater will be broadcast live on ESPNU and the ESPN App.
Be sure to keep an eye on MeanGreenSports.com, follow Mean Green Sports on social media @MeanGreenSports and Mean Green track & field/cross country at @MeanGreenTFXC for all of the latest information.
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FULL QUOTE FROM COACH ERIK STEVENS
"It's absolutely 100% huge for the program. To be able to come in and with a new staff, making those promises that we're going to change the program. We're going to do the right things to bring it to the level that it can definitely be at. That's a big step in the process. It brings the program a little bit of notoriety right off the top. It brings the distance program a little more notoriety right off the top. It's just awesome. For Victor, he's just a great individual. I've enjoyed getting to know him as an athlete. Enjoyed getting to know him as a person. He's a tremendous human being.
"When we saw the result overall yesterday, being in that fifth spot, it was kind of deflating. Almost a big punch to the gut. So to have that opportunity be given today and have him selected as one of the individuals just shows the dedication that he's been a part of all season long. He's been 100% dedicated to the process. If we go back to that article that we had written about him in the campus paper, I remember he literally said, 'I want to be an all American. I'm going to do the things that I can do to be there on my end and then trust the process.' And he's done nothing but that. He's done everything that he needs to do, and he's trusted every part of the process so far. So I'm super excited for him."
"It's absolutely 100% huge for the program. To be able to come in and with a new staff, making those promises that we're going to change the program. We're going to do the right things to bring it to the level that it can definitely be at. That's a big step in the process. It brings the program a little bit of notoriety right off the top. It brings the distance program a little more notoriety right off the top. It's just awesome. For Victor, he's just a great individual. I've enjoyed getting to know him as an athlete. Enjoyed getting to know him as a person. He's a tremendous human being.
"When we saw the result overall yesterday, being in that fifth spot, it was kind of deflating. Almost a big punch to the gut. So to have that opportunity be given today and have him selected as one of the individuals just shows the dedication that he's been a part of all season long. He's been 100% dedicated to the process. If we go back to that article that we had written about him in the campus paper, I remember he literally said, 'I want to be an all American. I'm going to do the things that I can do to be there on my end and then trust the process.' And he's done nothing but that. He's done everything that he needs to do, and he's trusted every part of the process so far. So I'm super excited for him."
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