Men's Cross Country | 11/21/24 | 7:24 AM
Helena, Mont. – Carroll's Cross Country program will be represented at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Mo. on Friday November 22.
Saints Recap
The Saints men won the Frontier Conference Championship two weeks ago to earn an automatic bid to the National Championships. This marked their 4th consecutive year winning the final Frontier meet. Zack Gacnik earned Runner of the Year honors for his individual win while Oliver Morris and Connor O'Hara joined him as All-Conference selections for their Top 10 finishes.
Carroll's women placed second at the Frontier Championship meet. Isabelle Ruff, Hannah Sempf, and Anna Terry placed in the Top 10 and were named All-Conference. The women's squad ended the season receiving the 29th most votes in the National polls, putting them two places out of receiving an at-large bid to the National meet. Ruff and Sempf were selected to represent the Carroll women at Nationals as they were in the midst of the four highest placers at the Frontier meet who weren't on a qualifying team.
Preview
For the men, Gacnik, Morris, O'Hara, Brycen Gardner, Peter Rehberger, Daniel Koralewski, and Zach Rector are expected to race for the Saints. It will be Morris' first trip to a National meet while the rest of the group brings a combination of National cross country and track experience to the course. O'Hara and Rector will race their final 8k in a Saints uniform.
The men's team was ranked No. 25 in the final ratings, just one spot ahead of Rocky Mountain College who earned an at-large bid to the meet. Both Frontier teams will be up against a deep, competitive 36 team field of Conference winners and at-large selections.
"The race tomorrow is a culmination of so much effort and intent over time on the part of these men," said Head Coach Shannon Flynn. "They've done the diligent, hard part of this already, so the focus will be as always on the process and on how we can soak up the experience with each other while striving for our collective best," she added.
Ruff and Sempf will be among 82 individuals that will join the 36 teams in the women's race. The women's All-Conference awards were their second and third in a row respectively, and they have been building momentum over the course of the season.
"Isabelle and Hannah are representing our entire group of women," said Coach Flynn. "We're really wanting them to be brave out there and to know that the work they've put in and how they get to enjoy putting that on display in a race matters for themselves individually and for how our team builds moving forward."
The men's 8k race will begin at 10:30 am Central at Gans Creek Cross Country Course while the women's 6k race will start at 11:30 am. An awards ceremony will follow.
Live results will be available at this LINK.
A free livestream of the meet is available HERE.
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