RESULTS
Notables-Lawson's 23rd place finish was the second-best ever at a NCAA DIII Region Championship.-A CSS men's runner has never qualified for the NCAA Championships.-The 16th place Central Region finish is the second-best in program history.-The Saints finished with 451 points and was the top UMAC program.
PELLA, Iowa (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's cross country team placed 16
th out of 27 teams on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Central Region Championships, hosted by Central College (Iowa).
The Saints were led by junior
Chris Lawson (Minneapolis, Minn./St. Anthony Village), who placed 23
rd overall with a time of 25:39.4. Lawson becomes the second NCAA Division III All-Region performer in program history. The first was Nick Mangan in 2010.
Luke McKenzie (Taylors Falls, Minn./Chisago Lakes HS) was the second Saint to cross the finish line in 67
th overall, posting a time of 26:30.4.
Jacob Gallagher (Lisbon, N.D./Lisbon HS) came home 80
th in a time of 26:38.2.
Josh Trosen (Hackensack, Minn./Nevis HS) came across in a time of 28:21.4, which was good for 136
th place. The final Saint to score was
Tim Dunstan (Dollar Bay, Mich./Dollar Bay HS) in 145
th as he edged teammate
Victor Pilon (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) with a time of 28:42.1.
Adam Wallenta (Eagan, Minn./Farmington HS) was in 152
nd with a time of 28:54.8.
St. Olaf College won the meet with 21 points. Loras College (Iowa) was second with 78 points. Both St. Olaf and Loras get automatic bids to the NCAA Division III Championships next week. Central College (Iowa) was third with 82 points and Carleton College fourth with 132 points.
Central should get an at-large berth in the championships and Carleton is also in contention to get an at-large berth, which is important for Lawson. If Central and Carleton are selected as at-large teams then Lawson would get the region's seventh-and-final individual qualifying spot for next week's NCAA Division III Championships.
The field for the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships will be announced Sunday at 2 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Championships are scheduled to take place in Mason, Ohio next Saturday, hosted by Wilmington College.
