NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 secured five individual bids to the upcoming NCAA Cross Country Championships following Regional action Friday morning, as La Salle advanced a total four runners – Ibrahim Kedir and Taonga Mbambo on the men's side and plus Eleanor and Elizabeth Mancini for the women's – while league champion Loyola Chicago qualified Ryan Martins as well.

The five A-10 representatives head out later next week for the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, hosted by Oklahoma State University and set for the morning of Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla.
 
At the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional in State College, Pa., Eleanor and Elizabeth Mancini placed seventh and eighth, respectively, en route to punching their tickets to the NCAA Championships, as the former clocked in at 20:28.5 for a new career-best 6k time while the latter's time of 20:30.5 topped her previous mark by three seconds. The sisters were both named to the NCAA All-Region Team for their performances.
 
Meanwhile, Kedir and Mbambo placed sixth and ninth, respectively, to earn their spots in Stillwater. Kedir, who sat in 26th place at the 1200-meter split, moved up 20 positions over the final stretch to close out the day with a final time of 30:09.4, a new career-best 10k time. Mbmabo clocked in at 30:14.9 for a new-career-best mark as well. Both Explorers were named to the All-Region Team.

Over in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Columbia, Mo., Loyola's Ryan Martin, who placed second at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships, utilized an impressive closing kick that saw him check-in under three minutes across each of the men's 10k race's final four splits. The graduate student ultimately crossed with a time of 29:41.3, a near two-minute personal best, to finish second overall and claim an automatic individual berth to the national meet.