The stout history and tradition of the Adams State University men’s cross country team was reinforced Saturday morning with the program’s 11th NCAA Division II National Championship and 23rd overall national title.
The Grizzlies paced the field with 69 points for their third consecutive national title; adding to their run of six titles over the last seven years. Adams State tallied a total time of 2:34:00.30 for a 58-point margin of victory over Grand Valley State.
“They really performed unbelievably well. They definitely brought their ‘A’ game.” Said head coach Damon Martin after the meet. “From top to bottom the entire team gave everything they had.”
Three ASU runners finished in the top five lead by Tabor Stevens who captured his second consecutive individual title with a time of 30:02. The senior ends his collegiate cross country career as the second-most sucessful runner in NCAA Division II history. In the last four National Championship races, Stevens has finished 11th, 3rd, 1st, and 1st.
“You can always count on Tabor. He stuck to his plan today of hanging with the guys before taking off to finish strong.” Martin added.
During today’s championship race, Stevens made his biggest move at the four mile mark by advancing four runners into third place. Soon after he took over the top spot and Tabor Stevens cruised to a 17-second margin of victory over the runner-up finisher. It was a season marked by dominance as Stevens also ran to a RMAC title and took second place with a photo finish at the South Central Regional Championship. He was most recently named the USTFCCCA South Central Region male runner of the year.
Also helping secure the team crown for ASU were Kevin Batt, Matt Daniels, and Chad Palmer. Batt and Daniels finished fourth and fifth, respecitvely, as Palmer crossed the finish line for 18th.
“Kevin had a solid race. He had a great effort today and I’m really proud of that. Matt hadn’t ran in a long time. He went through so much adversity leading up to today’s race.” Said Martin.
Batt took fourth with a time of 30:31 with Daniels crossing the line in 30:32.
“For me the biggest surprise was Chad. He’s a walk-on kid from Alamosa that has improved as much, or more so, than any kid on the team. Two weeks ago he was 22nd at regionals and ran inspired today for 18th place.”
Saturday’s Championship marked Martin’s eighth as head coach for the men’s cross country program.
NOTES: This meet’s course could have been mistaken for a mud bath, as rain before race day made the course extremely sloppy. The men of Adams State and women of Grand Valley State completed a rare three-peat, each taking their third consecutive NCAA Division II National Championships.
Grand Valley State’s victory was especially impressive, as Kendra Foley, Allyson Winchester, and Jessica Janecke went one through three. As statistician Walt Murphy pointed out, Grand Valley State’s score of 50 points is the lowest winning score since 2004.
NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships
E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, Louisville, KY, USA; Saturday, December 6
MEN (9560m) –
Team Results: 1. Adams State, 69 points; 2. Grand Valley St., 127; 3. Augustana (S.D.), 136; 4. Colorado Mines, 144; 5. Western State, 185; 6. Alaska Anchorage, 196; 7. Southern Indiana, 219; 8. Sioux Falls, 251; 9. Malone, 259; 10. Ashland, 274; 11. West Texas A&M, 303; 12. Lock Haven, 321; 13. Western Washington, 332; 14. Chico State, 371; 15. Edinboro, 390…[32 teams]
1. Tabor Stevens, SR, Adams State 30:02.0 2. Aaron Dinzeo, SR, California U. 30:19.3 3. Mike Biwott, JR, American Int'l (KEN) 30:26.5 4. Kevin Batt, JR, Adams State 30:31.2 5. Matthew Daniels, SR, Adams State 30:32.4 6. Harald Karbo, JR, Augustana (S.D.) (NOR) 30:40.5 7. Tyler Pence, SR, Southern Indiana 30:41.6 8. Johnnie Guy, JR, Southern Indiana 30:41.7 9. Alan Peterson, SR, Grand Valley St. 30:42.4 10. Andrew Trusty, SR, Malone 30:55.7 11. Thomas Toth, SR, Cameron 30:56.2 12. Joshua Mirth, SR, Hillsdale 30:59.2 13. Evan Lewandowski, SR, Wis.-Parkside 31:03.0 14. Derek Alcorn, SR, Colorado Mines 31:03.7 15. Matt Link, SR, Edinboro 31:05.5 16. Ryan Roush, JR, Malone 31:06.4 17. William Brockmueller, SR, Sioux Falls 31:07.0 18. Chad Palmer, FR, Adams State 31:07.4 19. Nick Hall, JR, Ashland 31:11.2 20. Matt Horan, JR, Sioux Falls 31:11.7 21. Adam Braun, SR, Augustana (S.D.) 31:11.8 22. Johnny Sanchez, SR, Chico State 31:12.7 23. Henry Cheseto, FR, Alaska Anchorage (KEN) 31:15.3 24. Dylan Mountain, JR, Lock Haven 31:15.7 25. Brian Baum, SR, Ashland 31:18.0 26. Phil Schneider,SR, Colorado Mines 31:20.3 27. Bryce Bradley, SO, Grand Valley St. 31:21.7 28. Dominik Notz, JR, Alaska Anchorage (GER) 31:22.6 29. Keifer Johnson, SO, Western State 31:23.9 30. Michel Ramirez, JR, Alaska Anchorage 31:24.5 31. Nathanael Williams, SO, Colorado Mines 31:25.3 32. Nathan Hauge, JR, Augustana (S.D.) 31:26.0 33. Ian Butler, SR, Western State 31:26.4 34. Glen Ellingson, SO, Augustana (S.D.) 31:26.8 35. Job Kemboi, JR, Clayton State (KEN) 31:27.2 36. Chad Cini, JR, Grand Valley St. 31:27.3 37. Chris May, SO, Grand Valley St. 31:28.6 38. Nicholas Filippazzo, SR, Adelphi 31:28.7 39. Brady Selner, SO, Grand Valley St. 31:29.0 40. Tyler Schickel, JR, Southern Indiana 31:29.1 41. Akiharu Kitagawa, JR, Mount Olive 31:29.3 42. Dan Mahoney, SO, Colorado Mines 31:32.7 43. Adam Sinda, SR, Western State 31:35.5 44. Robert Brockmueller, SR, Sioux Falls 31:38.7 45. Mark Huizar, SO, Cal Poly Pomona 31:39.2 46. Geoffrey Kipchumba, FR, W. Texas A&M (KEN) 31:39.6 47. Brett Villarreal, SR, West Texas A&M 31:40.5 48. Baptiste Moreu, SR, West Texas A&M 31:40.8 49. John Patterson, SO, Western State 31:42.0 50. Juan Pacheco, JR, East Central 31:43.9 [245 finishers]
WOMEN (5780m),
Team Results: 1. Grand Valley St., 50 points; 2. Hillsdale, 115; 3. Minnesota-Duluth, 118; 4. Adams State, 125; 5. Augustana (S.D.), 206; 6. Wayne St., 219; 7. Simon Fraser, 225; 8. Alaska Anchorage, 280; 9. Roberts Wesleyan, 295; 10. Colorado Mines, 342; 11. Malone, 350; 12. Western Washington, 352; 13. Chico State, 353; 14. Bloomsburg, 358; 15. Edinboro, 397; 16. Western State, 419…[32 teams]
1. Kendra Foley, SO, Grand Valley St. 21:05.8 2. Allyson Winchester, SR, Grand Valley St. 21:11.5 3. Jessica Janecke, JR, Grand Valley St. 21:14.7 4. Emily Frith, SR, Bellarmine 21:16.7 5. Katelyn Steen, SR, Western Washington 21:20.8 6. Fiona McKenna, SR, Hawaii Pacific 21:25.8 7. Kristina Galat, JR, Hillsdale 21:26.1 8. Jenna Thurman, SO, Adams State 21:26.1 9. Maura O'Brien, SO, Adams State 21:26.3 10. Leah Seivert, FR, Augustana (S.D.) 21:33.0 11. Julia Kohnen, SR, Southern Indiana 21:33.7 12. Emily Oren, JR, Hillsdale 21:34.0 13. Chloe Gustafson, SR, Colorado Mines 21:34.8 14. Samantha Rivard, SO, Minnesota-Duluth 21:38.0 15. Sasha Hovind, SO, Northern State 21:38.4 16. Heather Bates, FR, UC-Colo. Spgs. 21:39.5 17. Amy Johnston, SR, Alaska Anchorage 21:39.9 18. Emilee Trost, FR, Minnesota-Duluth 21:42.3 19. Rachel Prutsman, SR, Roberts Wesleyan 21:43.4 20. Kasey Jones, JR, Edinboro 21:45.3 21. Alexis Zeis, FR, U-Mary 21:49.3 22. Hannah Osborn, SR, Grand Valley St. 21:49.7 23. Molly Oren, SO, Hillsdale 21:50.0 24. Hannah McIntyre, FR, Hillsdale 21:51.7 25. Breanna Colbenson, SO, Minnesota-Duluth 21:52.3 26. Staci Foster, SR, Azusa Pacific 21:52.8 27. Hannah Olson, JR, Minnesota-Duluth 21:53.5 28. Connie Morgan, SR, Central Washington 21:55.4 29. Rachel Kresl, SO, Adams State 21:56.7 30. Jennifer Johnson, SR, Simon Fraser (CAN) 21:57.1 31. Lauren Gagnon, SR, Wayne St. 21:57.8 32. Catie Byrd, JR, Queens (N.C.) 21:58.5 33. Kayla Balfour, JR, Wayne St. 21:58.8 34. Jordan Chester, JR, Grand Valley St. 21:59.2 35. Hannah Boudreau, FR, Bloomsburg 21:59.3 36. Annie Kruse, FR, Augustana (S.D.) 22:02.9 37. Amy Creutz, SO, Grand Valley St. 22:03.1 38. Brittany Johnson, JR, Wayne St. 22:03.5 39. Kate Dodds, JR, Bloomsburg 22:04.0 40. Lauren Lehman, SR, Bloomsburg 22:04.1 41. Emma Love, SR, West Texas A&M 22:05.3 42. Dani Eggleston, JR, Central Washington 22:06.9 43. Rebecca Bassett, SO, Simon Fraser (CAN) 22:07.6 44. Kelley Bahn, SR, West Florida 22:08.5 45. Sarah Meek, JR, Malone 22:10.3 46. Caroline Kurgat, FR, Alaska Anchorage 22:12.0 47. Megan Wright, SR, Queens (N.C.) 22:13.2 48. Meritxell Delgado, SR, Augustana(S.D.)(ESP)22:13.7 49. Kaitlyn Yoerg, SR, Augustana (S.D.) 22:14.0 50. Michaela Johnson, SR, West Texas A&M 22:14.3 [249 finishers]