Men's Results | Women's Results

New York's chilly air and lake effect snow welcomed cross country teams from all corners of the country to the 2014 NCCAA Championships.   Colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, Washington, Minnesota, and many states in between sent their distance runners to Houghton, NY to compete for a national title. 
 
After hosting and winning the ECC Conference Championships last weekend, the Roberts Wesleyan Women's Cross Country Team didn't have to travel far to steal the spotlight again.  This weekend, they claimed their second NCCAA title.  They're now two-time national champions.
 
Up until last year, the women's team had never won an NCCAA team championship.  And up until this year, they had never won an NCCAA individual title in cross country.  Rachel Prutsman took care of that.  She set a course record in 17:54 and guided her teammate, Megan Hulton, to a second place finish and a long, sought-after personal goal: sub 18 minutes for 5k.  Hulton covered the course in 17:58.
 
The scoring squad's 40-second 1-6 gap meant the rest of team was close behind the two frontrunners.  Elizabeth Valento finished third in the line-up for the first time in her career.  She was eighth overall in the race.  April Sablan, Rachel Hutchinson, and Rachel Hust crossed the line together in 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th, respectively.  Only five seconds separated these four runners.  Six Redhawks achieved All-American status (top 15 individuals) and, with six runners in the top 11, the team scored just 27 points.  Second place Dallas Baptist University (fellow NCAA DII member) scored 95. 
 
The Roberts Wesleyan Men's Cross Country Team also had a good day.  Keith Pease, Jordan Roselund, and Kyle Rapp led the way with three sub-26:50 performances.  Pease ran 26:33 and Roselund's 26:43 was a personal record by 26 seconds.  Rapp registered a season-best 26:46.  Since five of the team's top six runners took to the sidelines to save up for next week's NCAA DII Regional Meet, several freshmen were afforded invaluable championship experience.   They contributed heartily.  Joshua Johnson's 27:33 was more than two minutes faster than the last time he ran on the same course.  Robbie Schrenker and Erik Johnson dipped under 28 minutes, as well.
 
The men's and women's teams will leave for Nashua, NH on Friday morning.  On Saturday, at Mines Falls Park, they will compete against teams from the ECC, the NE-10, and the CACC for one of three NCAA DII National qualifying spots.  The women are ranked first in this region.  The men are fourth.  We hope you'll root them on!