KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan cross country senior Hanne Christensen concludes her unprecedented 2017 campaign at the NCAA Championships as an individual qualifier on Saturday, Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky.  It is the first trip for Christensen, becoming just the third Bronco to earn a trip to the national championships since 1986.


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"We are really looking forward to Saturday's competition," commented WMU associate head coach Taryn Sheehan. "Hanne has worked incredibly hard over her career and Saturday is an opportunity to showcase that against the best runners in the NCAA."  

Christensen qualified for Friday with a masterful run at last weekend's NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships with a 6K time of 20:48.8, good for sixth overall, and was awarded all-region honors. Throughout her senior season, Christensen led the Broncos in all five races she has competed in with WMU. She has been crowned an individual champion in three separate events including the George Dales Invite, Pre-National Invitational and the Mid-American Conference Championship, becoming the first member of WMU to garner the title since 1993.

"Hanne has done an incredible job this fall with her composure and her race savviness, which should play to her advantage in such a deep and talented field," added Sheehan. "I also think she is taking huge confidence from her win on this course at Pre-Nationals in October."

The NCAA Championships will take place at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, with the women scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. The competition will be livestreamed by FloTrack, which requires a FloPRO subscription.