Sievert officially named a national championships qualifier
SEWARD, Neb. – For the fourth time in his career, senior Ben Sievert is headed to the NAIA cross country national championships. The NAIA officially named Sievert an at-large individual qualifier on Monday. Sievert joins the 2014 men’s field of 36 teams and 76 individuals set to compete at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday, Nov. 22.
The native of Frankenmuth, Mich., receives the at-large selection thanks to his fourth-place finish at the GPAC championships in Mitchell, S.D., on Nov. 8. That finish gave Sievert his fourth-straight cross country all-conference honor. In his career, he’s never placed lower than sixth at a conference meet. Sievert crossed the finish line in sixth in 2012 when Concordia won the GPAC title behind conference runner of the year Colin Morrissey.
At last season’s national championships, the first-ever held at Rim Rock Farm, Sievert claimed 19th place and All-America honors by navigating the 8K course in a time of 25:02.13. In his two previous trips to the national meet (held in Vancouver, Wash.), Sievert placed 51st (25:38) in 2012 and 207th (26:36) in 2011.
In addition to earning four all-conference awards in cross country, Sievert has also been named GPAC runner of the week on five separate occasions. In addition, he has been a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete in cross country and track.
