by (Lawrence, Kansas) – The 2014 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships will take place on Saturday, November 22nd at Rim Rock Farm just north of Lawrence, Kansas and will be hosted by the Lawrence Sports Corporation and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
The men’s 8-kilometer championship takes place at 11:45 a.m. CST on Nov. 22, shortly after the completion of the women’s 5-kilometer championship which is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. CST. The Championships Award Ceremony will be held at Abe and Jake’s Landing in Lawrence, Kan., and will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Indian Country will have at least 6 Native American runners represented, with 3 women and 3 men competing in each race with Haskell Indian Nations University runners representing half of the Native American presence.
Below is a list of the runners that we are aware of at this time and how they got there, if there are other runners that we are unaware of please let us know.
WOMEN:
1. 
Allison Denetchee, Senior, (Navajo Nation/Coolidge, Arizona) – Allison, from William Carey University, makes her second straight national championship appearance as an individual as she received and automatic bid courtesy her victory in the SSAC Women’s Cross Country Championship. With a 5-kilometer time of 18:54, Allison Denetchee of William Carey (Miss.) outpaced the 79-runner field to earn the to claim the SSAC Women’s Cross Country individual title on November 8th. She was also named the SSAC conference runner of the year and named to the all-conference first team as well. This will be the last race of her collegiate career.
2. 
Talisa Budder, Senior, (Keetoowah Cherokee/Kenwood, Oklahoma) – Talisa, from Haskell Indian Nations University, makes her 4 straight national championship appearance after place 5th overall at the MCAC conference championships with a time of 20:00.4 in the 5-Kilometer run. Talisa was named to the All-MCAC team as well for her efforts. Talisa will also finish her collegiate career as well for the Haskell Indians where she has had the most successful individual career for Haskell since joined the NAIA. Talisa was previously a two-time MCAC conference champion and helped lead her team to a first place finish 2 years ago in the MCAC. She also started her first year as the 2011 Freshman of the Year for the MCAC.
3. 
Angela BigBow, Freshman, (Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma/Mountain View, Oklahoma) – Angela, from Haskell Indian Nations University, makes her first appearance to the NAIA National Championships and looks to carry on the tradition that senior leader Talisa Budder has started at Haskell. Angela earned her individual bid to the championships by placing 6th overall at the MCAC Conference championships with a time of 20:02.82 in the 5-Kilometer event. Angela also was named to the All-MCAC team for her efforts.
MEN:
1. 
Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris, Sophomore, (Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma/Norman, Oklahoma) – Mackenzie, from Oklahoma City University, returns for his second straight appearance to the national championships as part of the defending national championship OCU Stars. The Stars have also been ranked number one all season and will be the favorite to win the schools second ever cross country national championship. Mackenzie is the only returning all-american runner from our list of runners after placing 25th overall last year on the same course. The OCU Stars already repeated as SAC conference champions as well where Wahpepah-Harris rounded out the top five for the Stars finishing eighth overall to earn all-conference with a a time of 26:07.18.
2. 
Richard Langdeaux, Senior, (Rosebud Sioux Tribe/Bakersfield, California) – Richard, from Valley City State University, took 13th place overall at the NSAA/Frontier Conference national qualifying meet to earn his second straight trip to the national championships where he finished 233rd overall . Langdeaux was the top North Star conference finisher at the meet, earning the individual conference championship with his time of 26:41. He was also named the NSAA Runner of the Week that week as well. Last season, the Vikings qualified as a team to the 2013 national championships where Langdeaux was the top finisher for the VCSU with a time of 27:08.51, a time that he is looking to improve on in his last appearance as a collegiate runner.
3. 
Tony McCabe, Sophomore, (Navajo Nation/Albuquerque, New Mexico) – Tony, from Haskell Indian Nations University, makes his first appearance to the NAIA national championships after placing 4th overall at the Midlands Collegiate Athletics Conference (MCAC) championships with a time of 28:07.51. Tony was also named to the All-MCAC team as well for the second straight time in his career.
Best of luck to all of the Native American runners at the championships.
