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Queen University in Charlotte, North Carolina has announced that they have unanimously accepted an invitation to join the ASUN Conference beginning in July of 2022. As a result, the Queens Royals will be transitioning from Division Two to Division One, beginning a four-year process required by the NCAA to eventually compete in D1 NCAA Championships.
The Queens men and women have emerged as one of the most nationally recognized distance programs in Division Two over the years. The Royals have produced national champions, numerous All-Americans and many of the nation's best low-stick talents.
Whether it was Felix Wammetsberger and Daniel Wallis going 1-2 in the mile at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships, Fatima Alanis becoming one of the better D2 5k talents of this era, Jan Lukas Becker running the 12th-fastest 10k time in D2 history or both men's and women's cross country teams consistently placing highly on the national stage, the Royals have emerged as a legitimate D2 powerhouse.
The Royals are now set to join an ASUN Conference that has becoming sneaky-good over the last few years. Teams like North Florida, Lipscomb, Eastern Kentucky, Kennesaw State and Liberty have often been able to produce nationally competitive distance talents at the Division One level.
Kennesaw State's Sarah Hendrick currently leads the women's 800 meters nationally this spring with a mark of 2:00.98. The Owls also recently announced that they have added Princeton's Caroline Timm to their roster for next year.
North Florida is currently home to 1:47 runner Tim Doyle. The Ospreys also recently added D2 standout Mac Franks to next year's roster.
Eastern Kentucky is one of the best steeplechase programs in Division One and they occasionally qualify their men's cross country team for the NCAA XC Championships.
Lipscomb has quietly produced a handful of strong middle distance standouts as of late, including recently-turned professional runner Shane Streich who ran the indoor 1000 meter American Record this past winter.
Then there is Liberty, a team that boasts some of the best men's distance runners in NCAA history. Nowadays, they continue to produce a handful of respectable individual talents while their women's cross country team qualified for the 2021 NCAA Winter XC Championships.
Queens now joins Southern Indiana, a staple midwest distance program, as standout Division Two schools that will be transitioning to the Division One level later this summer.
California Baptist, a former Division Two program, is expected to complete their four-year NCAA transition process to Division One at the end of this academic calendar.