Miles Christensen Runs Third-Fastest 8K Time in CMS History to Help Stags Finish 11th

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Senior Miles Christensen finished in 22nd place out of 266 runners, the majority of whom were from Division I schools, to help the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's cross country team finish 11th out of 30 teams at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday.

Christensen's time of 24:16.6 was the top Division III time in the field and moves him into third place in CMS history for an 8K race. The only two faster times came last year at the NCAA Division III Championships, when Henry Pick ran a 23:40.4 and Stevie Steinberg clocked a 24:09.0 to earn All-America honors. 

Christensen came into the weekend ranked seventh in CMS history with his time of 24:34.9 at last year's NCAA Championships, and he chopped over 18 seconds off his best to move up to third. 

Adam Sage was the second CMS finisher in 24:25.4, which placed him 36th in the meet and sixth all-time at CMS. Nick Taubenheim ran a 24:34.2, which was 51st in the meet, and moves him into the top 10 in CMS history in ninth. Henry Pick ended up with a 100th place finish in his first meet of the year, clocking a 25:06.2. 

Also joining the CMS top-40 list were Charles Albach, who moved into 34th with a 25:12.2, Hayden Beauchemin, who is now 37th after a 25:17.1, and Daniel Fajardo, who places 39th with a 25:23.0.

Division I Cal Poly ended up the team champion with 59 points, ahead of Southern Utah with 90 and UC Riverside with 183. 

In the open race, CMS placed fourth overall with 161 points. Agustin Gomez de la Vega was the top Stag finisher in 27th place with a 25:42.7. Vibhu Krishnan was 36th in 25:56.0 and Hale Behan was 38th in 25:58.0. 

CMS will be back in action next weekend for the Cougar Challenge at CSU San Marcos.