CMC75 Moments: 1989 Men's Cross Country Wins First SCIAC Championship

As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moments, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.

Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
1989 Men's Cross Country Wins SCIAC Title, First in Program History

The CMS Men's Cross Country program has 17 SCIAC titles to its credit now, and is perennially one of the top contenders for the league crown. It was the 1989 squad that broke through for the first one, though, and laid the groundwork for the future success.

The Stags opened the year with a loss to Westmont, but then went 12-0 the rest of the way, including six regular season SCIAC wins and a first-place finish in the SCIAC Championships. A dual win over Occidental marked the first time that CMS had ever defeated the Tigers, and close wins over Redlands (24-33) and Pomona-Pitzer (24-34) enabled the Stags to finish the regular season 6-0.

The league championships weren't that close, as CMS peaked at the right time and had a dominant performance with 26 points, beating Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer by 30 points each. Carl Berg was the individual SCIAC champion, while Brian Barnes (4th), Eric Blum (5th), John Dennis (7th) and Jeff Peterson (9th) were all first-team all-league with top-10 finishes. The Stags earned a team qualification to nationals and placed 14th in the country to cap off their breakthrough year, with Berg earning the highest finish for the Stags at No. 59.

Barnes placed No. 88 at nationals for the 1989 squad, but by his senior year in 1991, he improved to a 22nd-place finish, making him the first All-American in program history. Barnes began another tradition of excellence for the program, as the Stags have now had All-American winners 11 different times.  

1989 Men's Cross Country Roster
Head Coach: John Goldhammer
Assistant Coach: Steven Barrett
Brian Barnes (So., CMC)
Kelly Beck (Sr., HMC)
Stephen Beebe (Sr., HMC)
Carl Berg (Sr., CMC)
Eric Blum (Sr., CMC)
Derek Cone (Fr., HMC)
Robert Davis (Jr., HMC)
John Dennis (Sr., HMC)
David Maurice (Jr., HMC)
Matt McAdams (So., HMC)
Matteo McCarthy (So., HMC)
Jeff Peterson (So., CMC)
David Small (Jr., HMC)
Brett Saraniti (So., HMC)
Chris Throckmorton (Jr., HMC)