UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA. – The Anderson University men's cross country team finished 23rd in the NCAA National Championship meet on Friday (Dec. 2) at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Washington.
"Our men ran an incredible race and had a spectacular finish to the year," said coach Kevin Eagle. "We were ranked 33rd going into the NCAA's and came out 23rd. We showed up as a team on the day and shocked a lot of people. We did have some adversity with two of our top guys from regionals being sick and not able to compete today. The other guys stepped up and performed out of their mind. This is a historical day for our men's program and is a great sign of what is to come in the future!"
Spain Vaughan, All-SAC first team and USTFCCCA All-Region runner once again led the Trojans by finishing 52nd at a pace of 30:45.8. Elliot Dotson and Ty Nelson stepped up big for Anderson, finishing 106th (31:19.5) and 143rd (31:45.1) respectively. Thomas Sutcliffe (32:07.7) and Will Oglesby (32:09.0) ran close together to take 167th and 174th. Patrick Berlejung rounded things out for the Trojans at 191st at a pace of 32:23.8.
This is the conclusion of the most successful season in program history, marking the first ever trip to NCAA Nationals, while also placing 23rd after coming into the meet ranked 33rd. Four Trojans (Vaughan, Dotson, Similton, and Nelson) were named to USTFCCCA All-Region, the most in program history.
