“They are crazy” I overheard one spectator say before the gun shot pieced the dry, warm Missouri air. I thought to myself, runners are crazy to an extent. Who else is willing to fly or drive half way across the country to torture their bodies by running thru a freshly cut thistly field? Loud chanting brought me out of my thoughts and I quickly realized who the spectator was referring to; it was not the runners but the freshly painted fans. Adam’s State had Thing 1 and Thing 2 but instead of their usual blue hair, they had green. Vikings were wandering with fur tunics and horned head gear. Cheering wars erupted between schools breaking the tension filled air. I do believe Chico State won the contest with Grand Valley a close second. After the officials cleared the hooligans from the course, the women’s race began. Thru the first mile Abilene Christian’s Winrose Karunde lead followed closely by a group that included: Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler and Jane Larson, Adam’s State Tanya Gaurmer and Brittany Somers, Emporia State’s Joel Rossbach, Wayne State’s Rachelle Malette, South Dakota’s Rasmey Kavan and Augustana’s Rachel Strangler with a small gap over the rest of the field. Pixler and another runner stumbled and fell about half way thru the race. Pixler recovered and let the front runners do the work before making her move a bit before the third mile. Pixler gapped the field finishing 13 seconds over second place and with a new meet record of 20:29 for the 6k course. Winrose (20:43), Rossbach (20:47), Malette (20:48), Kavan (20:49) finished second thru sixth in the National Meet. Tanya Gaurmer helped lead the Adam’s State women’s team to their fifth straight team title. Adam’s State placed six runners in the top thirty to score 63 points. It was a tight race for second with only seven points separating second and fifth place. Seattle Pacific placed second with 178 points, Grand Valley placed third with 181 points, Chico State placed fourth with 183 points and Cal State Los Angeles placed fifth with 185 points. In the men’s race a lead group of Adam’s State Aaron Braun and Reuben Mwei, Queen’s Daniel Kanyaruhuru, Grand Valley’s Nate Peck and Abilene Christian’s Nicodemus Naimadu, Serge Gasore, and Julius Nyango quickly gapped the field around the mile and a half mark. Naimadu waited till the third mile to make his move. Kanyaruhuru and Braun held with Naimadu till finally falling back before the fourth mile. Kanyarhuru held second place before eventually falling to fifth in the last mile. Naimadu finished nearly 35 seconds over second place Braun with a time of 29:39. Naimadu became the only NCAA runner to win four Cross Country National titles which puts him ahead of elite company as only four athletes have won three individual national titles in the sport, the University of Oregon's legendary Steve Prefontaine among them. Adam’s State Aaron Braun came in second with a time of 30:05 over the 10k course followed quickly by Abilene Christian’s Julius Nyango with a time of 30:06. Adam State’s Reuben Mwei finished fourth with a time of 30:09 and Queen’s Daniel Kanyaruhuru came in fifth with a time of 30:15. The men’s team title was a tight race with Abilene Christian coming out on top with 59 points by placing their top three in the top six. The heated rivalry between Western State and Adam’s State continues by both teams tying for second with 66 points. Grand Valley State came in fourth with 152 points and Minnesota State Mankato behind them with 185 points. The Division II 2007 National Cross Country Championships is one for the record books. The competition was fierce, the fans were insane and the winners were heroes. All this could not have been possible without the support of coaches, volunteers and the NCAA. All I have to say is let the speculation and predictions begin for next year’s meet at Slippery Rock. *Photo credit to NCAA Photo Services. Also, I wanted to note that I am working on uploading video to the user video expect sometime next week. Yeah, I know it is late, much later then what I wanted. -Oh, and I found the Chico State Fans on Youtube.