Butler's men's cross country team is headed to Stillwater, Oklahoma to compete in the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 15.
 
The No. 22 Bulldogs took home their first-ever BIG EAST team title last Friday and are looking to build on their great season. This is Butler's highest ranking in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll since 2010.
 
The 2021 individual and team championships will air on ESPNU and the ESPN App with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. (Eastern). Oklahoma State University will play host at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater. The women's 6k race will begin at 12:50 p.m. (Eastern), followed by the men's 10k race at 1:40 p.m. (Eastern).
 
Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
 
BIG EAST Recap
Every Bulldog who ran for the Butler men's team at the BIG EAST Championships set a personal-record 8k time in the race. Butler had three men in the top-five finishers and six Bulldogs earned All-Conference honors in the top-20 runners.
 
Barry Keane was the first Bulldog across the line, finishing second overall with a personal best time of 23:06.0.
 
Simon Bedard and Remi Schyns joined Keane in the top five, placing third and fifth respectively with personal best times of 23:12.2 and 23:21.2. Pierre-Louis Detourbe worked his way into the ninth spot as the fourth Bulldog in the top-10 with a time of 23:33.5.
 
Rounding out the Bulldog's first five was Jackson Martin who took 16th overall with a time of 23:41.0. Jack McMahon and Clark Otte followed suit at 19th and 20th, crossing the finish at 23:45.4 and 23:47.1, respectively.
 
In their first BIG EAST Championships, freshmen Jesse Hamlin (23:59.7) and Ryan Adkins (24:11.5) made strong impressions, placing 23rd and 30th in the elite field. Evan Byrne rounded out the Butler finishes with a time of 25:09.2.
 
Butler finished with just 35 points as a team, well ahead of the second-place Georgetown team who finished with 52 points. Both men's teams from Georgetown and Villanova, who came in third overall at the conference meet, were selected to the NCAA Championships. 
 
Last Season's NCAA Championships
Butler had three Bulldogs qualify for the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships with Euan Makepeace and Simon Bedard on the men's side and Emily Royston on the women's side.
 
Makepeace capped his senior season and career at Butler with an All-American finish in the men's 10K race by placing 15th.

Race Coverage
This will be the first time that the championships have been covered on live television since 2009, with the rescheduled 2020 championships available on ESPNU and the ESPN App on race day, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. The women's 6K race will kick off at 12:50 p.m., and the men's race 10K race will follow at 1:40 p.m. The Cross Country Championships will continue to be broadcast on the network until 2023. The announcement was made in a joint statement by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and ESPN on Monday, Feb. 17.