CMS Men's Cross Country Ranked No. 14 in Preseason, Picked Second in SCIAC

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's cross country team is ranked No. 14 in the nation in the preseason poll released by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, while holding down the second-place spot in the SCIAC preseason poll entering the new season.

CMS received two first-place votes in the SCIAC poll, while Pomona-Pitzer (ranked No. 2 nationally in the preseason) earned the other seven to edge out the Stags 79 points to 74. La Verne was third with 60 points, followed by Redlands, Caltech, Occidental, Chapman, Cal Lutheran and Whittier. 

Nationally, CMS was picked 14th in the preseason after ending up 15th at the NCAA Division III Championships last fall. The Stags had been sixth the previous year, but the cold weather in Michigan at the 2022 championships, with temperatures below 20 degrees, led to challenging conditions. 

The Stags need to replace a few of their top runners, including Henry Pick, who was third at the NCAA Division III Championships as a junior in 2021, and Miles Christensen, who earned All-Region honors fourth times. Oliver Pick, Henry's younger brother, is the top returner for CMS from the SCIAC Championships a year ago, when he finished fourth to take first-team all-league honors. Adam Sage was a second-team All-SCIAC selection and went on to earn a top-10 finish at the NCAA West Regionals (sixth) and a top-100 finish at nationals (75th). 

Charles Albach was also an All-West Region finisher last year, coming in 23rd in Spokane, as was Nick Taubenheim, who came in 33rd. Daniel Fajardo also earned postseason experience for the Stags as part of the seven-runner contingent that traveled to the NCAA Championships in Michigan. 

CMS has several other runners returning who were in the top 50 at the SCIAC Championships and will try to move up into the top seven. Hale Behan was 35th, Kai Gundlach was 41st, Agustin Gomez de la Vega was 42nd, and Raja Batra was 48th. Hayden Beauchemin was also off to a strong start to his first season before ending up out of action for SCIACs, but returned in the spring to record one of the top 10 times in CMS track and field history in the steeplechase (seventh). 

CMS will open up its 2023 season when it competes at the Mark Covert Classic, hosted by CSU Fullerton, on Sept. 2. 

To view the complete USTFCCCA preseason poll, go to the following link:
 
USTFCCCA Preseason Poll