Clinching a berth for the first time in school history, the SF State men’s cross country team is headed to championships after finishing fourth at NCAA Division II Regionals in Hawaii on Saturday.

Junior Bruk Assefa led the team with a ninth place finish overall with a time of 32 minutes and 29 seconds, earning All-Region honors. Seniors Brian Trejo and Ernesto Rodriguez finished in the top 30 with Trejo coming in 27th with a time of 33 minutes, 27 seconds and Rodriguez finishing 29th in 33 minutes, 36 seconds.

The Gators finished in fourth place with a total time of 2:47:18, squeaking by Humboldt State who finished with a total time of 2:47:41.

Senior David Urista is excited for the championships and is ready to race hard.

“I’ve never been on a team that has been this high caliber before. Just making nationals is amazing because not many people can say they’ve been there,” Urista said. “Since last year, we had a goal to go to nationals, but we kinda fell short because we finished sixth. This year we got there and we want to solidify our program to be a big program, to make it happen as a tradition.”

The team will be heading to Joplin, Mo. Nov.17 to compete with the final 32 teams, where Missouri Southern State University will be hosting the event. The men’s race is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Central Time.