"Every year a lot of very fast individual XC runners don’t make Nationals simply because they were not a member of a top team. Taking the 31 top teams and only 38 of the fastest individuals not on those 31 teams is unfair. Fast XC runners should not have to limit their college selection to a 20-top XC school to have a fair chance of qualifying for Nationals.
Every year, good individuals (All-American candidates) get left out.
The two at-large selections are certainly not the answer since they almost always go to the weak regions. Rarely do individuals come out of the strong regions.
On the women's side, both of the at-large individuals came out of the south! Not sure what the answer is but it appears that the entire system is flawed and something needs to be done.