“Six miles…10,000 meters over hill and dale out in the middle of nowhere. Spit freezing on your godamn [sic] chin. Five hundred complete wild men in the mud, running up your heel with long spikes. Oh, I love cross country all right. I also like being flayed alive with a rusty straight razor” so proclaimed the famous fictional runner, Quenton Cassidy.  This love-hate relationship with the sport is familiar to many; as grueling as cross country races can be, many runners are reluctant to see the season come to an end.  For a handful of hard working individuals and teams, however, there is one last opportunity for sweat and glory: The DII Cross Country National Championships, being held at Slippery Rock, PA on November 22, 2008.  Below is a recap of last weekend’s regional championship races.  As usual, I encourage readers to supplement the information below.

I will also be making a roadtrip (8 hours and 15 mins) to DII Nationals! Hope to see some of you there!

 

Midwest- The meet was hosted by Ferris State.  Grand Valley State University took both the men’s and women’s regional titles. In the women’s race, Wayne State’s Rachel Malette took home top honors, covering the 6k course in 21:19.1.  Megan Maceratini of Grand Valley State placed second (21:31.8) and Wisconsin-Parkside's Jessica Monson took third (21:33.6). Grand Valley State totaled 35 points to win the women's crown, with Wayne State placing second (90) and Ferris State placing third (111). All three teams will be making the trip to Nationals. Along with Monson, Southern Indiana's Mary Ballinger also qualified for Nationals.

 

On the men’s side, it was Grand Valley State's Chris Hammer, covering the 10k course in  31:52.8, who narrowly took the regional title over Jaime Villa Zapatero of Drury (31:53.6). Wayne State's Abdullah Saleh was third place (31:59.9). Grand Valley State totaled 45 points, earning the men's overall title. Wayne State and Southern Indiana tied for second place (102) and Ashland finished fourth (108). All four teams will move on to the National meet. Hillsdale's Tim Jagielski also advanced to Nationals.

 

Atlantic –Hosted on the National course at Slippery rock, it was Shippenburg’s Neely Spence who took top honors, covering the 6k course in 21:09. She was followed by Slippery Rock’s Jaime Wright (22:07), Millersville’s Priscilla Jennings (22:07), and Edinboro’s Tina Yi (22:08). Shippensburg took home the team title with 62 points and will advance along with Slippery Rock (97). Along with Spence and Wright, who will advance with their teams, Yi and Jennings will advance as individual entrants.

 

On the men’s side, the individual champion was Chris Clark of California (PA), who ran a course-record time of 31:00, a notable 35 seconds faster than the previous mark over the 10k course. He was followed by Edinboro’s Ben Hahn (31:23) and Slippery Rock’s duo of Jeff Weis (31:33) and Pat Reagan (31:39). All will advance to Nationals. Lock Haven won the team title with 51 points, followed by Edinboro (71). Both teams will advance to Nationals.

                 

Central-  Although there were five spots open on the women’s side, it was nevertheless a hard fought contest for these national bids.  In the individual race, it was University Of Colorada at Colorado Spring’s Shannon Payne who took top honors, covering the 6k course in 21:14. She was followed by Adams State’s duo of Heather Wood (21:25.8) and Lavenna Mullenbach (21:25.9).  Adams State took home the team title with 30 points, placing their top five in the top fifteen places. They were followed by Augustana (81), Western State (83), Minnesota Duluth (129) and Metro State (180), all of whom qualified Nationals. Besides Payne, the other individual qualifier is Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda.

 

On the men’s side, Adams State secured the regional crown by delivering a one-two punch by Aaron Braun and Brian Medigovich, who covered the 10k course in 30:47.51 and 30:59.51 respectively.   Western State’s Iain Donnan (31:05.66) placed third. Adams State took home the team title with 33 points and will advance to Nationals. Also advancing will be Western State (52), Minn. St. Mankato (108), Colorado Mines (115), Metro State (135) and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (205). New Mexico Highland’s Laurent Ngirakamaro finished sixth overall in the field of 138 runners (21 teams) to earn one of the two individual qualifying spots. State’s (Neb.) Nate Preston took twelfth place to earn the other spot.              

 

South-  In the women’s race, it was Tampa’s Jessica Forrester who took top individual honors covering the 6k course 21:50. She was followed by Florida Southern’s Carolyne Kwambai (22:26) and teammate Heather Nicolosi (22:26).  Tampa won the team title with 28 points and will advance along with second place finisher Harding (47 points). Along with Kwambai, Alabama Huntsville’s Gwen Kyser will also advance.

 

In the men’s race, Harding’s Daniel Kirwa won his seventh straight race, covering the 10k course in 29:25. Kirwa led his team to a perfect finish, the bisons taking the first through fifth places for an exceptional 15 points. Harding will advance along with Alabama Huntsville, who took second with 92. Advancing individually are Florida Southern’s Scott Mackley and Christian Brother’s Stephen Hill.

 

South Central-  In the women’s race, it was the 2007 NCAA XC runner-up, Abilene Christian’s Winrose Karunde, who claimed the individual title covering, the 6k course in 20:45.6. She was followed by Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank (21:55.3) and teammate Loice Cheboi (21:21.4). Missouri Southern took the team title with 88 points, followed by Midwestern State (94) and Pittsburg State (105). All three teams will advance along with Karunde and Cheboi.

           

In the men’s race, Abilene Christian grabbed the top six places on their way to win with 31 points over Missouri Southern (105 points) and Pittsburg State (149 points).  All three teams will advance to the National Championship meet. Abilene Christian was led by Julius Nyango, who covered the 10k course in 30:10.7.  Also advancing are Texas A&M-Commerce’s Tyler Tyndell and St. Edward’s David Fuentes.

                  

Southeast  - On the rolling Wingate 6k course, it was Clayton State’s Allison Kreutzer who took home top honors, covering the course in 22:24. She was followed by Carson Newman’s Aubrey Morris (23:03), Anderson’s Whitney Bishoff (23:15), St. Andrew’s Alyson Trovato (23:29) and Queen’s Jessica Neville (23:35). All four individuals will advance along with the squads from Lee-McRae, winner of team title (85 points) and second place squad Augusta State (110).

 

On the men’s side, Queens took five of the top seven spots and were led by junior Oscar Ogwaro’s.  Oscar secured the individual title by covering the 10k course in 30:54. He was followed by teammate’s Michael Crouch (31:07) and Futsum Mebrahtu (32:05). Individually advancing will be Wingate’s Jayce Watson and St. Andrew’s Mitch Cooper. Queen’s took the team title with 19 points and were followed by Columbus State (87).

                  

West- The 2007 National Cross Country Champion, Jessica Pixler, won the individual title covering the 6k course in 20:57.1.  Jubilant about her win, Pixler said, “It was great to be racing in warm weather and I am happy with how my team and I raced, and am excited for Nationals.”  Pixler was followed by Chico State’s Tori Tyler (21:33.9) and Western Washington’s Sarah Porter (21:38.1).  Chico State took the team title with 60 points. They were followed by Seattle Pacific (92), Alaska Anchorage (104), Cal St. Los Angeles(114), and Western Washington (141). All four teams will be advancing. Individually, UC San Diego’s Bre Schofield and Byu-Hawaii’s Amanda Whitford will also compete at the National meet.

The unimaginable happened in the men’s race; officials had to restart the race after the lead bicycle missed a turn causing the race to deteriorate into chaos (race video can be see here).  After much confusion—during which the lead group of fifty runner realized the cycist’s mistake and ran back to reconnect with the on-course chase pack—race officials eventually halted the race.  Unfortunately, the runners had already put in 5k worth of work. It was decided that the race would be rerun after the women’s race. Chico’s Scott Bauhs won the individual title covering the 10k course in 32:15.8. He was followed by Alaska Anchorage’s Marko Cheesto (32:24.6) and St. Martin’s John Riak (32:35.1).    Chico State garnered 28 points to easily earn the team crown, while second place Alaska Anchorage tallied 67. Western Washington’s 103 were good enough for third. All three teams will advance. Riak and University of San Diego's Jake LeVieux qualified on the men’s side.

East- In the women’s race, UMass Lowell’s Christina Dalomba led her squad to the team title, capturing the individual title by covering the 6k course in 22:10.0. She was followed by Bentley’s Melissa Nash (22:25.7) and Adelphi’s Ify Anene (22:32.5). Both teams will advance. UMass Lowell won the regional title with 46 points. Second place finisher, Stonehill (56 points), will also advance.

On the men’s side, it was UMass Lowell’s Ruben Sanca who took individual honors by covering the 10k course in 30:36.3. He was followed by Southern Connecticut State’s Christopher Croff (31:07.0) and NYIT’s Nicholas Koiyet (31:18.3). Both will advance. UMass Lowell won the team title with 43 points and will advance along with second place finisher Stonehill (54 points).