Photo Courtesy of ASC Sports Information: 2011 Adams State Men's Corss Country Team
Scott Kretzmann
ASC Sports
Information Director
DENVER, Colo. – After finishing as the runners-up in a tight team race at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championships, the 2nd-ranked Adams State men’s XC team was led by three runners among the top five in claiming a 28-61 team victory over Western State at the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships at Washington Park on Saturday afternoon.
ASC entered the meet ranked second in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) behind Western State, but claimed their fourth straight Central Regional title at the Metro State hosted meet. The 33-point victory is the largest during the Grizzlies current streak of regional title.
Colorado Mines scored 72 points, leading the nationally 4th-ranked Orediggers to a third place finish. Augustana (S.D.) finished fourth with 116 points, and was followed by UC-Colorado Springs and Metro State, each with 189 points. The Mountain Lions took fifth place as their sixth runner placed ahead of the Roadrunners’ sixth runner. Those six teams earned the Central Regions’ six automatic team bids to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Spokane, Wash. on Nov. 19.
RMAC Freshman of the Year Tabor Stevens (Canon City, Colo.) led the Grizzly charge with a runner-up individual finish in a time of 32 minutes and 12 seconds, just two seconds behind individual champion Gabe Proctor of Western State.
Tyler Pennell, the RMAC Preseason Runner of the Year, finished third, but was the final Mountaineer to finish in the top 10. Pennell was followed by Grizzly seniors Matt Bond (Worcester, England) and Nathan Sellers (La Crescenta, Calif.), who placed fourth and fifth in 32:45 and 32:55, respectively.
Augustana (S.D.) runner Paul Yak was the first non-RMAC finisher in sixth, just ahead of ASC freshman Matt Daniels (Arlington, Texas) in seventh with a time of 33:10.
Eighth and ninth places went to CSM’s Sena Gildea and New Mexico Highlands’ Niciase Kazingo. But they were followed closely by junior Edwin Cruz (Del Norte, Colo.) who finished 10th to round of the Grizzlies’ top five, and earned his third straight all-region honors.
This year was the second straight in which all five of ASC’s scoring runners finished in the top 10 at the DII Central Regional Championships.
Junior Keegan Calmes (Wind Lake, Wis.) finished 17th overall, one spot ahead of Western States’ No. 4 runner, and gave the Grizzlies six USTFCCCA All-Central Region performers, as the honors now go out to the top 25 runners, expanded from last year’s 15.
Junior David Sanchez (Farmersville, Calif.) was the final ASC runner to cross the line, finishing in 28th overall.
Colorado Mines was the only other team in the region to have as many as six all-region men’s runners, while Western State had five.
Sellers and Calmes also became 2-time all-region performers on Saturday, as both achieved the honors a year ago as well.
After rebounding from their runner-up finish at the RMAC Championships two weeks ago, the Grizzlies are likely to reclaim the top ranking in the USTFCCCA National Poll heading into the Nov. 19 NCAA DII Championships in Spokane, Wash.. There, Adams State will be looking to claim its fourth straight and unprecedented ninth overall NCAA Division II title.
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