Stags Prepared to Tackle Trails Ahead
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's and women's cross country teams will open the 2017 season this weekend when they travel to the Nationball Classic on Saturday. The Stags have a busy opening month with five races filling the schedule during the month of September, before a lighter October leads into SCIAC and NCAA Championships at the end of the month and into November. Last season the Stags finished their season with a 5th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the best finish in program history, after claiming their 16th SCIAC Championship.
See below for a preview of the 2017 season:
A Look Back
Last season the Stags made major strides as a program, taking 5th-place in the NCAA Championship and seeing the now-graduated Kyle Lund (HMC) and Joshua Sealand (HMC) earning All-American honors. After sweeping the SCIAC Multi-Dual 8-0, the Stags went on to take the SCIAC Championship with six runners earning All-SCIAC. Then seniors, Nico Banks (CMC), Garrett Ryan (CMC), and Jesse Joseph (HMC) comprised half of the Stags' All-Conference honorees.
Thomas D'Anieri (CMC) was also named on the All-SCIAC team after crossing the finish line in 5th-place at the SCIAC Championship. He will be returning to the Stags for his sophomore season.
On the Trails Ahead
In addition to the return of D'Anieri, the Stags have plenty of experienced runners to lead the program, including seniors Kevin Huang (HMC), Collin Barraugh (CMC), Kyle Suver (HMC), Arch Robison (HMC), and Alex Mitchell (CMC).
Junior Harvey Mudd students Ben Iten and Adam Schulze secured top-30 finishes in major meets last season and will look to improve from their prior success.
Eight new freshmen will make their debut for the Stags and begin their development as the next foundation of the program.
What to Watch For
The Stags open the 2017 season this weekend at the Nationball Classic in Santa Barbara on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The Nationball Classic starts a stretch of four-straight Saturdays with a race for the Athenas. CMS will travel to the Biola, UC Riverside, and CSU San Bernardino Invitationals before the SCIAC multi-dual meet.
On Friday, Sept. 29 the Stags will travel to La Mirada to square off with the other eight teams in the conference in a multi-dual meet. The meet will be scored slightly different than other meets during the season, each team from the conference will race and their finishes will be scored as a dual against each team in the conference individually.
The Stags will race just once in the final month leading up to the SCIAC Championships on Oct. 28. Should CMS advance past the conference championship, the Athenas will not have to travel far for the NCAA West Regionals as Pomona-Pitzer is hosting the regional this year on Nov. 11. Following the regional, the NCAA Division III Championships will be held in St. Louis, Mo. on Nov. 18.
The Coaching Staff
John Goldhammer will lead the Stags, as he had for the last three decades, in the 2017 season. Across both the men's and women's programs, Goldhammer has led his teams to a total of 40 SCIAC Titles (24 for the women and 16 for the men) in his 33 years at the helm. Alongside Goldhammer on the coaching staff is third-year assistant coach, Collin Christensen.
For the most up-to-date information, stats, news, schedules, highlights, and more visit CMSathletics.org throughout the season and follow the Stags and Athenas on social media.