RMAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championship Results
DENVER, Colo. — The Fort Lewis College men's cross country team ran strong as a pack, finishing in eighth place in the 2011
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships today at Willis Case Golf Course in Denver.
“The guys had good pack time and ran strong,” said FLC head coach Ken Flint, who described the 8k course as one that featured long, gradual hills.
“It got a little windy on us and times could have been faster otherwise,” he added. “Overall, I'm happy with their performance. A pack time of 39 seconds for our top five was great.”
The FLC men's squad was once again led by walk-on freshman
Christian Gering (48th, 28:03). The pack included
Michael Birgen (50th, 28:18),
Jimmy Mohrbacher (52nd, 28:29),
Logan Ott (55th, 28:41), and
Justin Miller (56th, 28:43). Not far behind were FLC's non-scoring runners
Joey Brenner (59th, 29:13) and
Zach Chenoweth (61st, 29:24).
Western State won the men's competition with 28 points, narrowly edging three-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Adams State (31 points). The Mountaineers have been bridesmaids to the Grizzlies at the last three NCAA-II championships.
WSC's Tyler Pennel finished the 8k race in 24:59, besting ASC's Nathaniel Sellers by 11 seconds, capturing RMAC Men's Runner of the Year honors in the process.
The men's standings included third place Colorado Mines (89 points), followed by New Mexico Highlands (138), Metro State (141), UC-Colorado Springs (159), Nebraska-Kearney (172), Fort Lewis (261), Colorado Christian (302), Western New Mexico (312), Regis (333), and Colorado Mesa (348).
Fort Lewis again competed without its top runner,
Kip Mutai, who is trying to overcome a leg injury in time for the NCAA Division II Central Regionals, to be held at Washington Park in Denver in two weeks.
The Skyhawk women's squad struggled to a 12th place finish in the women's 6k championship.
“We have some ladies who are physically and mentally beat right now,” said Flint. “We need to get regrouped and refocused and redeem ourselves in two weeks.”
Amber Izzo led the FLC women with a time of 25:16, good for 48th place. Other Skyhawks to compete in Denver included
Helen Smith (61st, 25:51),
Morgan Love (76th, 27:06),
Kiara Glover (78th, 27:22),
Liz Schwab (80th, 27:44), and non-scoring runners
Maria Creech (81st, 28:09) and
Courtney Ott (82nd, 28:41).
Western State made it a clean sweep, winning the women's championship with a team score of 27 points. Their archrivals, Adams State, took second with 31 points. The Mountaineers were national runners-up to Grand Valley State (Mich.), a season that ended Adams State's seven-year stranglehold on the Division II women's national title.
Other women's teams to compete in Denver included Metro State (77), Colorado Mines (133), Regis (152), Nebraska-Kearney (179), Colorado Mesa (189), UC-Colorado Springs (234), New Mexico Highlands (252), Western New Mexico (282), Colorado Christian (314), Fort Lewis (343), and Colorado State-Pueblo (350).
Western State's Lauren Kleppin won RMAC Women's Runner of the Year honors by finishing the 6k race in 21:12 — 16 seconds ahead of Adams State's Alicia Nelson (21:28).
Other awards doled out in Denver included RMAC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year, which went to Western State's Jennifer Michel; Women's Freshman of the Year, won by Adams State's Melissa Roberts; and Men's Freshman of the Year, claimed by Tabor Stevens of Adams State. First, second, and third team All-RMAC squads were also determined. The Skyhawks failed to place a runner on all-conference teams.
