Thomas D'Anieri - Men's Cross Country

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior Thomas D'Anieri picked the right time for his fastest career race, handling the muddy conditions at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships to earn a third-place finish and All-America honors on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.

D'Anieri's final time of 24:25.2 marked the second-fastest 8K ever run by a CMS cross country athlete, and the fastest in 18 years. Only David Juiliano's 24:18.9 at the NCAA Championships in 2001 has ever been faster for anyone wearing a Stag uniform. 

In addition, Juiliano's second-place finish at the NCAAs in 2001 is the only time a CMS men's cross country runner has ever finished higher at the NCAA Championships than D'Anieri's third-place finish. It was even more impressive given that D'Anieri did not run at the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 16 while nursing an injury, meaning that he had not competed in the three weeks since winning the SCIAC Championship on Nov. 2, when he helped the Stags to the team title. 

D'Anieri's efforts helped CMS to a sixth-place team finish at the NCAA Championships, the second-highest in program history behind the fifth-place finish of the 2015 team, and a big leap forward from last year's 29th place finish, when D'Anieri was unable to compete due to injury.