Men's Cross Country Defeats Westmont at Nationball Classic

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's cross country team had a tight race with NAIA Westmont at the Nationball Classic, and came away with the win, earning 25 points to 35 for Westmont.

Westmont had the top two collegiate finishers in the race, including NAIA All-American Michael Oldach, who finished in first place with a time of 21:13. However, the Stags' superior depth showed, as they registered the next six finishers to end with 25 points, while Westmont's fifth-best finisher would have come in 16th place on CMS. 

The first Stag to cross the finish line was a newcomer, as Kyril Van Schendel (CMC '22) got off to a great start to his collegiate career with a time of 21:45. He finished 12 seconds ahead of his closest teammate, Wilson Ives (HMC '20), who was fourth overall with a 21:57. 

CMS, which was ranked No. 30 in the nation in the preseason USTFCCCA Division III poll, then had four runners essentially cross the line together, as they were separated by only seven seconds. Adam Wilkinson (CMC '22) also scored in his first collegiate race with a 22:22, followed one second later by Stevie Steinberg (HMC '21). Ben Iten (HMC '19) was the fifth Stag to earn points, finishing fifth on the team in 22:25, while William Kimball (22:29) was just off the pace in sixth place on the Stags (and eighth overall). 

Daniel Sealand (HMC '21), Adam Schulze (HMC '19) and Brooks MacDonald (HMC '21) also were in the top 12 for the Stags, with Sealand coming in under the 23-minute mark at 22:54, and Schulze (23:06) and McDonald (23:07) finishing close behind. 

"The men performed well with our first nine runners running very close together," said Head Coach John Goldhammer. "That should make for great training as well as some good results in the big races"   

CMS will be back in action next weekend when it travels to the Biola Invitational, before heading to the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 15.