Three student-athletes representing Wayland Baptist University will be competing at the 2009 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Vancouver, Wash.

Senior Timmy McCune will be making his fourth appearance at the national meet. He attended as part of the Pioneer men's team in 2005 and 2006, and was an individual qualifier in 2007. This year the Denver City native again qualified as an individual based on his sixth place finish at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship Meet two weeks ago in Lubbock. The men's 8K race, which begins at 10:30 a.m. PST, will include 32 teams and 102 individual qualifiers. Malone University, located in Ohio, is favored to win its third consecutive men's title.

WBU's Catherine Leubner and Milca Villegas will be among the 117 individual qualifiers competing in the women's 5K race which is scheduled to start at approximately 11:45 a.m. PST. A freshman from Big Spring, Luebner was the runner-up at the conference meet, while Villegas, a freshman from Ft. Worth, finished fifth. Azusa Pacific University is the favorite among 32 women's teams to capture its second straight title.

The NAIA Championships will take place at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site and hosted by the Cascade Collegiate Conference and Concordia (Ore.) University. Fort Vancouver Historical Site, located near Portland, Ore., is a unique, historic and challenging competition venue that boasts a successful record for hosting world class cross country championship events, including USA Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships and World Cross Country Trials.