Henry Pick Wins SCIAC Cross Country Title in Course Record Time, Stags Finish Close Second

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Henry Pick set a new course record at the Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country course to take the individual title at the SCIAC Championships in 24:24.7, helping Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to a close second-place finish.

Pick pulled away over the closing stretch to win by over five seconds over Pomona-Pitzer's Ethan Widlansky, who came in second in 24:30.0. Stevie Steinberg of CMS came in third place in 24:34.6, while Kyril Van Schendel also earned first-team All-SCIAC honors in ninth place in 25:00.9

CMS finished with 42 points as a team, but fell eight shy of Pomona-Pitzer, which won the team title with 34. Two years ago, the two teams tied with 31 points, and the Stags earned the tiebreaker, with Pick's 10th place finish, as the fifth Stag to cross, a key element in that win which earned him the National Runner of the Week honor from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. 

This time around, Pick earned himself the individual championship with a big race, although the Sagehens were able to earn the team title with five of the top 11 finishers. 

The Stags had four runners earn second-team All-SCIAC honors by finishing in the top 20. Miles Christensen finished in 14th place, Adam Wilkinson 16th, Will Kimball 17th, and Evan Hassman 20th.

CMS also had a wave of runners finish between 25-33, as Nick Taubenheim, Daniel Fajardo, Daniel Sealand and Oliver Pick finished in a row between 25-28, with Gage Hornung 30th, Noah Battaglia 31st and Adam Sage 33rd. Zachary Traul added a top 40 in 39th. 

CMS will be back in action at the Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country Course in two weeks for the NCAA Division III West Regionals, when they will try to qualify as a team for the NCAA Division III Championships for the 13th season in a row.