NCAA Cross Country: Athenas 14th, Stags 19th; Barnwell and Loustalet All-Americans
Both cross country teams competed at the NCAA Championships on Saturday with the women finishing 14th and the men finishing 19th. Allison Barnwell finished 24th individually in the women's race and Zorg Loustalet finished 21st in the men's and both runners earned All-American honors by finishing in the top 35. CMS was one of six programs that had a male and female All-American. 32 teams and 280 runners competed in each race.
Barnwell, who was competing for the fourth time at the Nationals, ran in the top 40 for early portion of the race, moved into the top 30 by halfway and ended in a personal best finish of 24th with a time of 21:52.2. She is now a two-time All-American after finishing 33rd in 2012. Adele Eslinger ran a personal best time of 22:30.7 to finish 83rd overall. Sara Mostatabi was 99th in 22:37.5, Lisa Beem was 103rd in 22:39.6, Rae Brookshire was 206th in 23:24.8, Meghan Fuelling was 225th in 23:36.8 and Nicki Maslan was 234th in 23:43.9. The five scorers has team point totals of 18, 60, 75, 78 and 156 for a total of 387.
Loustalet ran in the top 30 the entire race and finished 21st with a time of 25:09.0. He was the second sophomore in the race and is the first CMS male to earn All-American honors prior to his senior year. Tyler Robinson was 144th in 26:13.5, Jon Briskman was 147th in 26:13.7, Sam Pitcavage was 176th in 26:25.7, Colin Briskman was 201st in 26:34.8, Jacob Higle-Ralbovsky was 215th in 26:42.0 and Evan Molineux was 228th in 26:51.4. The five scorers has point totals of 15, 107, 110, 133 and 154 for a total of 519. CMS was at the top of a pack of seven teams within 24 points including Pomona-Pitzer. The Stags were the top finishing West Region team for the fourth time in the last five years.
At the awards banquet on the night before the race, John Goldhammer was awarded the West Region Women's Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association. This is the fourth straight year he has won the honor on the women's side.