Men's Cross Country Breezes to First Place Finish at Cougar Challenge

SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's cross country team had seven of the top eight collegiate finishers as it captured first place in a three-team Cougar Challenge, hosted by CSU San Marcos on Saturday morning.

The Stags finished with 22 points, while the host Cougars were second with 51 and San Diego Christian was third with 113. Unattached runner Robert Marin won the individual title on the muddy course with a time of 25:12.1. 

After Marin crossed, though, it was almost all Stags to fill out the top ten. Freshman Miles Christensen (pictured) came in second place with a 25:19.1, followed quickly by Stevie Steinberg with a 25:22.6 in third. Freshman Kyril Van Schendel (25:47.1) edged out Josh Witwiller of CSU San Marcos (25:50.6) for fourth place. Four straight Stags then crossed the line in the 6-9 spots, with senior Ben Iten (25:58.4) and sophomore Evan Hassman (26:02.7) in sixth and seventh place as the final two scorers for CMS. Sophomore William Kimball (26:07.9) and freshman Alexander Hirsch (26;15.8) joined their five teammates in the top ten in eighth and ninth, respectively. 

Freshman Adam Wilkinson also had a strong race to come in 11th place with a 26:21.5 and senior Charlie Harris was in 12th with a 26;27.3. Junior Wilson Ives (19th) and sophomore Daniel Sealand (20th) also earned top-20 finishes, while freshman Garrick Jensen (22nd) and senior Matt Psaltakis (24th) were in the top half of the 49-runner field, with freshman Kaito Komoriya right behind in 25th, a fraction of a second behind Psaltakis. 

The Cougar Challenge was the final tuneup for the Stags before they compete in the 2018 SCIAC Championships in two weeks at Prado Park on Saturday, Oct. 27.