NCAA XC National Championships
D1 Men
Results Missed the race here is the replay
Purdue junior Matt McClintock showed he belongs among the best in NCAA again as he finished a career best 19th overall to earn All-American honors for the second straight season.
The race was interesting as the lead pack had 30 plus runners all together for the first 8k of the 10k before the pace dropped sharply. Matt being an experienced racer positioned himself well as he went through 3k in 33rd, less than 2 seconds out of first place. At the halfway point, Matt was positioned well in 37th with his 15:31.4 split. He moved up to 19th at 8k, and held that position to the finish line.
"Definitely not my style of racing however, one of the keys to be a great runner is to be able to assess situations and adapt. I wanted totay out of the wind which I was able to do. When the move came down I was able to stick in and grind for the last couple of k's and maintain my position." Matt said of the slow pace and being able to react when the break was mad at 8k by eventual champion Edward Cheserek of Oregon.
Iowa State freshman Dan Curts finished 205th overall in his first NCAA experience, he ran 32:40.2 for the 10k course
D1 Women
Missed the race watch the replay
It was a big day for the Cyclones of Iowa State as they matched a career program best with a National runner-up finish. One of the key for the Cyclones was the return of 2013 All-American Bethanie Brown who hadn't race since September 27th. Brown missed three weeks of training with ankle tendonitiis shortly after that race, and was unable to suit up for Iowa State at the Conference or Regional events.
Head XC coach Andrea Grove-McDonough said Brown's presence was key. "It was a very crucial element to landing on that podium and as high as we did. Without her we would have been 6th, obviously we needed our other athletes to run well but she took us from a good team to a great team.
"It was a bit difficult and nerve-wracking to get on the starting line today knowing that I wasn't feeling my best." Brown said after her race.
Bethanie didn't race like she was nervous, the sophomore established herself among the top 50 early on as she hit the 2k checkpoint in 43rd place. Brown continued to move up over the next 2k as she was in an all-American position in 36th at the 4k checkpoint. This was huge for the team standings as the Cyclones were the second best team with just 2k to go. While Brown lost 17 spots over the last 2k, she held on to finish in 53rd covering the 6k course 20:53.5, and more importantly the third Cyclones across the finish line, her two teammates Perez Rotich & Magaret Connelly followed in 65th & 66th to close out the scoring for Iowa State.
147 was the final score for Iowa State which put them in the runner-up position behind Michigan State and 41 points ahead of New Mexico.
"It was really exciting to be able to help my team to a second place finish. It was definitely a historic finish and I was glad to be part of it." Brown said talking about being able to run today.
Coach McDonough had high praise of Brown & her sacrifice for the team "She's a selfless athlete and she showed the kind of character she has by forgoing the opportunity to redshirt - and put herself right in the mix despite the many setbacks she's had this season and as far back as last spring. She's a true champion."
"It was a great experience racing at my first ever ncaa championship. I feel like I really put myself in the race and stayed In it as long as I could. Today I gave it all I had and a 115 place finish at ncaa is where I end my season." Durgin said about her first NCAA experience
Running in her first National Championship at the NCAA level UCONN junior Emily Durgin had a strong showing. Durgin who went out in the first 2k right behind Bethanie Brown was in 44th. She continued to run well hitting the 4k mark in 58th spot, she would finish the 6k in 115th place with her 21:17.6.
Durgin is looking ahead to the indoor season after her strong fall "I am looking forward to the track season where I will be trained completely by my new coach jj Clark. He is a very smart man with a lot of experience in the sport and he has high expectations of me and our team going into the next season."
(Photo by Julie Millard)
D3 Men
Results | Missed the race watch the replay
The 5th ranked Colby College Mules lived up to their rankings as they totaled 192 points to finish in the 5th spot. They were just 4 points from the third spot. Leading the way for Colby was sophomore David Chelimo who placed 11th covering the 8k course 24:12.6, good for a 4:52.3 mile average. Silas Eastman was the #2 man for Colby, Eastman just missed AA honors with his 38th place finish, his time was 24:41.3. Another Maine native was #3 runner for Colby as Jeff Hale placed 53rd, 24:57.6.
Other runners for Colby
Charlie Coffman 57th 25:00.1
Ben Lester 91st 25:17.7
Stefan Sandreuter 235th 26:14.4
Griffin Gagnon 271st 26:59.4
Freshman Ben Decker of Williams had a good first National meet as he placed 124th with his 25:30.2 effort. Decker was the 6th runner for the 6th place Williams squad.
D3 Women
Nagy's Middlebury team finished 6th overall, while Bickford was the #1 runner for the 22nd place Wellesley team
Maine Natives
Taylor Bickford (Wellsley) 92nd 23:11.6
Erzsebet Nagy (Middlebury) 263rd 24:54.4