The CU men’s cross country team claimed its fourth national title on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson 10-kilometer course in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Buffs’ men’s team won the 10k race with 149 points, 20 points ahead of runners-up Northern Arizona, and the Buffs are now tied for sixth all-time in cross country national championships.
CU freshman Ben Saarel, sophomore Morgan Pearson and senior Blake Theroux were all top-25 finishers, and, along with Pierce Murphy, took home All-American honors. Oregon’s Edwark Cheserek was the individual champion, finishing with a time of 29:41. Saarel clocked the fastest time for the Buffs, 30:14.
Saarel was the Buffs’ top finisher, taking eighth place overall in a time of 30 minutes, 14 seconds. He is the first Colorado runner to earn All-American honors as a true freshman since Billy Nelson in 2002. Nelson is now an assistant coach for the Buffs and an Olympian.
The women’s team placed seventh overall in their 6-kilometer race. Providence, ranked number one, won the race with 141 points.
On the women’s side, Shalaya Kipp led the pack. She finished ninth with in 20:21.7 and picked up her fourth All-American honor as a result.
The Buffs had three more runners aside from Kipp in the top 100. Senior Abbey Levene, Colorado’s second scorer, placed 59th. Freshmen Melanie Nun and Erin Clark finished 68th and 97th. Kipp, Levene and Elizabeth Tremblay are all expected to graduate from CU in May.
Saturday’s victory was the sixth national title for CU cross country. Each was won during Head Coach Mark Wetmore’s career.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Jordyn Siemens at jordyn.siemens@colorado.edu and Managing Editor Annie Melton at anne.melton@colorado.edu.
