The Saturday before Thanksgiving break, the men's and women's cross-country teams traveled to Hanover, Indiana to compete in the NCAA Division III championships.
The men finished eighth out of 32 teams, while the women placed 11th, also out of 32.
Coach Mike Woods said he was extremely pleased with the performance of both teams in the championships: "The goal at the start of the season is just to make the championships, and for both teams to place as highly as they did is wonderful."
The top runner for the men was junior Timothy Chichester, who finished in 45th place with a time of 25:08 running eight kilometers. The women's lead runner was senior Laura Iafrati, crossing in 46th place with a time of 21:58, with freshman Alyssa Smith right on her heels in 47th with a time of 22:00, both running six kilometers.
Rounding out the scoring at five for the men were freshman Lee Berube, 77th, 25:27; sophomore Mark Streb, 86th, 25:30; junior Bobby Henchen, 106th, 25:38; and sophomore Tom Reubens, 114th, 25:40.
For the women, the other three runners scoring points were junior Danielle Hunt, 85th, 22:20; junior Erin Marks, 126th, 22:39; and senior Mary McGrath, 227th, 23:39.
The men were also competing without their No. 2 runner, senior Brett Dolan, who was too sick to race.
"The men really stepped up big in place of Brett," said Woods. "Every one of the scorers set a personal record in the championship, which is a big reason they finished higher than they were ranked."
Following the championship Woods gave everyone who raced "a well-deserved break" before the start of the indoor season in mid-January. Both teams will get a week or two off before their training resumes.