Mike Dehring had a Saturday night he won’t soon forget this past weekend.

The St. Xavier cross country coach is a Notre Dame graduate. His phone rang Saturday night as the Irish were in the midst of completing a goal-line stand against Southern California in a 22-13 win. On the line was a representative from the Nike Cross Nationals.

The Nike representative was calling Dehring to let him know the Bombers had been chosen to receive one of four at-large bids to the national finals this coming Saturday in Portland, Ore.

“It was one of those good sports moments in my life,” said Dehring.

St. Xavier, which won the Division I state title on Nov. 3, placed third at the Midwest regional meet two weeks ago. The top two teams in each of the nine