Following a successful conference season that saw her awarded with All-Conference honors, Gabrielle Metzger will have one more race to run after qualifying for the 45th annual NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship. All teams and individual runners will prepare to race on Friday, November 22, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Columbia, Mo., Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

Metzger, a senior from Cadillac, Michigan, joined Multnomah after starting her collegiate career at Lansing Community College. Since becoming a Lion, she has improved her time in the 6000 meters by over a minute. Additionally, she had a lot of success during the 2023-24 track season in the steeplechase, finishing 10th in the country in last year's national meet. She has since been able to carry that success over the most-recent cross country season, and hasn't looked back once.

"I could tell Gabby had some doubts creeping in after the Bushnell Invite, but I knew she would be able to persevere and get it done at the conference meet," said head coach Ben Barber. "She didn't run her best race, and being two weeks out from the conference championships, I knew she was anxious. She also deals with an iron deficiency, which tends to make training really hard. The way she has been able to push through those difficult moments is a testament to her toughness."

Outside of running, Metzger is passionate about Multnomah and has been very proactive in trying to improve things around campus during her time as a Lion. She cares deeply about the community at Multnomah, and has found ways to connect with others through her work as an event planner for the Campus Life team.

Metzger hopes to be a top 40 finisher at nationals, which in turn would make her an All-American. Fans can cheer her on and watch as she competes next Friday at the 2024 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship HERE.

Fans can learn more about the 2024 NAIA Women's Cross Country Championship Qualifiers HERE.