The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Men look to repeat
Western State Colorado University cross country will go for national championships the morning of Saturday, November 17 when the Mountaineers compete in the 2012 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships at the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.
The men’s race begins at 9:30 a.m. MST, with the women’s race at 10:30 a.m. MST.
Complete results will be available after the meet on GoMountaineers.com as soon as they become official.
WSCU has qualified for the national championships in every year since moving to Division II in 1992, and combined for 11 championships in that span between the men’s and women’s programs. The Mountaineer women haven’t won the national championship since 2002, but the men will look to repeat as national champions after hoisting the trophy in 2011.
The women have placed second in the RMAC and South Central Region championships, in addition to victories at the Vigil Invitational and Mountaineer Open and have spent all season ranked number two in the nation. A win on Saturday would be the fourth Division II title in program history and the fifth overall.
The men placed third in the RMAC and second at the South Central Region championships. For most of the year, the men’s side was ranked fifth in the nation, but heading into the national championships the Mountaineers moved into second.
Two All-Americans from the 2011 National Championship team will be competing in the 2012 championships. Trevor Blackman finished in 13th place last year and Adam Sinda placed 30th.
The men have won eight NCAA Division II titles and nine overall. A sweep by both teams would be the first for the Mountaineers since 2002.
