A perfect score on the SAT is a 2400; on the ACT a 36 is perfection. In cross country a perfect score is 15, which means that the five scorers from a team finish first, second, third, fourth, and fifth. A perfect 15 is a rare event in college cross country meets. At the Colorado Classic on September 15, Adams State achieved perfection scoring a 15. The team was lead by sophomore Aaron Braun, RMAC freshman of the Year, 2007 NCAA Division II Outdoor Champion in the 1600m, and four-time RMAC runner of the week. It was not Adams State’s objective to score a 15; the team was racing against several DI schools. “We did not talk about it too much, we knew we would do well” said Aaron. “We did not realize it till about halfway thru the race. Andres (Urbina) from CSU was leading the race and our top four (Aaron Braun, Brian Medigovich, Babey Wagnew, Reuben Chebon-Mwei,) passed him. After that it was only up to Ryan (McNiff) to pass him.” Ryan McNiff did end up passing Andres and finishing more than six seconds ahead of him. Aaron also won in front of a hometown crowd. “It was pretty cool, I did not make my move till the last mile and it was cool having family, friends and old teammates to cheer me on,” said Aaron “But not as cool as it would be to win team nationals.” After achieving such perfection, Aaron hopes to be able to help his team win team nationals. “After 3 years of second, we are pretty tired of it.” said Aaron. Do not let this streak of 2nd places at nationals fool you. Aaron and Adams State are plenty successful. Aaron credits this to hard work and the attitude of the team. Coach Damon Martin plays his part too. “Coach Martin takes good care of us. He tells us-‘you never have to think I will think for you’” said Aaron. Aaron says that if it had not been for Coach Martin he probably would not have attended Adams State. “I thought that there was no way I was coming here. But after talking to Coach Martin, I realized this was the place for me,” Aaron said. Aaron knows he has made the right decision. “There is still plenty of competition in D II,” Aaron explains. Running is not the only reason he like Adams State. He likes the small class size and the easy availability of the professors. He is majoring in math and hopes to someday be a high school coach. Aaron hopes not only to leave college with a degree but with a team national title and the accomplishment of “being the best runner I could be” Aaron said. This past weekend Adams State sent their “B” team to the Fort Hays State Invite in Kansas. Colorado Mines’ Clifton Oertli was the highest division II finisher with a time of 25:54 placing fourth over the 8k course. Colorado Mines also took the men’s competition with 56 points over Butler Community College. In the women’s 5k race, Nebraska Kearney’s Kaci Licktieg was the first division II runner with a 18:58 and a third place finish. They won the women’s competition with 36 points over Butler Community College. At the Boarder Wars held in Edwardsville, Illinois Southwest Baptist’s Michal Pierce was the first division II finisher with a time of 26:01 over the 8k course and had a third place finish. Southwest Baptist also took the team competition with 86 points over Northern Kentucky. Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank won the women’s title in 18:19 and led her team to the women’s title with 61 points. Also this weekend was the Brooks Memphis Twilight Cross Country meet in Memphis, Tennessee. Harding’s James Cheruiyot was the first Division II finisher with a time of 24:16 over the men’s 8k course. University of Missouri-Rolla was the highest Division II School in the team competition placing 6th. Harding’s Janee Jones ran the women’s 5k course in 17:42 and was the highest Division II runner coming in 3rd place. Harding was also the highest placing Division II school in the team competition with a 3rd placement. At Belmont Abbey, Spartanburg Methodist’s Becca Prichard won the women’s 5k. Carson Newman won the women’s team competition with 59 points. Spartanburg Methodist’s Jeremy Vangsnes won the men’s 8k and led his team to win the men’s team competition with 26 points. At the Michigan Intercollegiate meet, Wayne State’s Rachel Malette finished won the women’s 6k in 22:09. Grand Valley State University won the women’s competition over Wayne State with 61 point to their 68. Wayne State’s Abdullah Saleh was the first Division II finisher with a 25:50 over the 8k course finishing second. Hillsdale College came in second in the men’s competition with 47 points and was behind Lansing Community College. Western Washington University’s Anthony Tomisch won the men’s 10k at their home meet finishing in the time of 32:15. Western Washington University also captured the men’s competition with 20 points over Central Washington. Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler took the women’s 6k with a time of 21:55 and leading her team to win the women’s competition with 25 points. * photo credits to http://ascgrizzlies.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=1836