Kent State University
NCAA Championships
Ba to Represent Kent State at NCAA Cross Country Championships for Third Straight Year
11/22/2024 4:16:00 PM | Cross Country
Kent State senior Baidy Ba looks for a strong finish to his cross country career at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin.
Live coverage of the meet begins at 9:30 a.m. ET on ESPNU. The starting gun for the women's 6K race is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. ET, while Ba will head to the starting line for the men's 10K race at 11:10 a.m. ET.
THE BAIDY BA FILE
Ba rewrote the record book at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional last Friday to advance to the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row and join David Wise (1962-64), Pete Lorandeau (1964-66) and Sam Bair (1965-67) as the only three-time national qualifiers in program history.
The Columbia, Maryland has finished in the top-6 in every race this season, including victories at the Tommy Evans Invitational, Paul Short Run and Falcon Invitational. Ba placed fourth at the Mid-American Conference Championships at the beginning of the month, matching his best finish at the conference meet, to become the first Golden Flash in more than 30 years to earn All-MAC First Team honors three times.
In his NCAA Championships debut back in 2022, Ba recorded a time of 30:26.1 to place 126th. He crossed the finish line in 31:11.9 for 162nd a year ago.
KENT STATE AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Golden Flashes have competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships twice as a team (1974, 1975) in addition to 22 individual qualifications.
The top 40 finishers on Saturday will earn All-America accolades. Kent State boasts seven All-Americans in program history, the last being Jim Loveless in 1991.
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