GovState Women's Cross Country Team qualifies for Nationals: A first for the program

Group photo of the Governors State University Women's Cross Country Team in orange uniforms with three coaches in GovState gear

By GovState Athletics Department

Edited by Sarah Shoaf, Staff Writer

For the first time in the program's history, Governors State University's (GovState) Women's Cross Country team qualifies for NAIA Nationals. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship meet will be held on November 21 in Tallahassee, Florida.

GovState Head Coach for the men's and women's cross country teams, John Niendorf, said this accomplishment has been years in the making.

Three Governors State University women's cross country runners smiling while holding small championship plaques and standing with the four member coaching team “Years of hard work finally paying off for these extraordinary young women! They finally achieved their goal this season and are heading off to Nationals in Tallahassee, Florida,” said Coach Niendorf (pictured far right). “I couldn't be prouder to coach these athletes, and they have made this season a true blessing for us as coaches.”

Expressing his pride in the team, Coach Niendorf commended the team's work ethic and extended gratitude to all supporters.

“They put in all the work and earned the right to be here. The toughness these women showed at conference last Friday to punch their ticket to Tallahassee is truly inspiring to our staff,” said Coach Niendorf. “This is an incredible moment in our program's history. Thank you to everyone for being there with us when we were finishing last in the conference to now.”

Click here to read GovState Athletics full announcement.