By: Jeff DeGraw
The Wolves cross country teams traveled to Richmond, Virginia for the NJCAA Division III National Cross Country Meet and came away with a National Champion and team hardware.
The men's team was led by the individual National Champion
Nathan Ciarlette and the seventh-place All-American finish of
Gavin Carlson placed third. Ciarlette's win was the second for a Wolves runner in the past six years and is the only program to have two individual champions in that span.
"Nathan ran a perfect race and followed the race plan exactly how we had talked about it," Wolves coach
Jeff DeGraw said. "He was with lhe leaders the entire way and made his move with about 300 meters left in the race. The only time he led was down the final straightaway and continued to increase his lead until he crossed the finish line. Nathan learned a lot all season how to race in college and he put together all that knowledge in the most important race of the season. It was impressive."
"Gavin [Carlson], once again was a steady grinder as he moved up the entire race. He has been so impressive the last two races and his performance at the regional meet gave him the confidence to do it again on the big stage.
Logan Schmidt ran his best race of the season in finishing 20th place, just five places from achieving All-American status.Â
"I'm so proud of this team, because anytime you can win a team trophy at the National meet (top three) is a huge accomplishment."Â
The women placed fifth, as Gabby Zid placed eighth overall to achieve All-American status.
Olivia Kics placed 16th, missing the top 15 by just .9 tenths of a second.
"The women ran well and have come so far this season. Some of our women never ran cross country before and their development was because of their work ethic and belief that they could do it.
"Gabby has been our leader all season and ran well. I felt bad for Olivia especially missing All-American by less than a second.
Adrienne Karpen ran her best race in two seasons and has really improved so much. To be the fifth best team in the country is pretty good and I'm so proud of this group."
