Both Stanford No. 4 men’s and No. 7 women’s cross country will compete in the NCAA championship this Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the 24th straight year that both teams will make an appearance in the race, after the women got an automatic bid after the NCAA regionals on Friday and the men earned an at-large bid.

The men knew that an at-large bid would be awarded to them based on their past results this season, especially after their Pac-12 title earlier this year. Consequently, the team elected to race conservatively to preserve their energy for the national championship.

Each race will feature 31 teams, including six Pac-12 teams on the men’s side and four in the women’s race. Once again, the Pac-12 is this year one of the most competitive conference in the nation, which should give the Cardinal high expectations after their performances in the Pac-12 championships.

The Cardinal women currently hold the longest streak in the nation with 25 consecutive participations in the championships, and they have collected five national titles during that span. Similarly, the men have made 26 appearances in the tournament, including 24 in the same number of years. The Cardinal men boast four team championships during that period.

Last year, the women placed second, while the men took the runner-up position behind Northern Arizona.

The women will kick off the competition with a 10:45 a.m. EST scheduled start time, while the men will toe the line for a 11:45 a.m. EST beginning.

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.