Men 25th at NCAA Championships

11/20/2021 9:58:00 AM

Kearney, Neb. – The 24th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney men's cross country team finished 25th with 597 points at the 2021 NCAA Division II Championships Saturday morning in St. Leo, Fla.

The 34-team race was held at The Abbey Golf Course and hosted by St. Leo University and the Tampa Sports Commission. 2021 Cross Champ

Qualifying for the NCAA's for the first time in seven years and for the ninth time in program history, the Lopers and the rest of the field had to battle 70% humidity, a slight breeze and a steep hill that literally took out the lead runner. The race began at 9:45 a.m. local time with UNK's five scorers tallying 78, 91, 114, 136 and 178 points. The field consisted of 245 runners.

A lead pack of around six broke away from the field early on with defending national champion Ezra Mutai of American International (Mass.) and Dillon Powell of Colorado Mines eventually distancing themselves. Powell held a healthy lead over Mutai by the 8k mark but fell trying to get up the hill and not finishing the race. Grand Valley (Mich.) State's Isaac Harding and Tanner Chada then passed Mutai to help the Lakers win the team title (43 points). Adams State was second (84), Colorado Mines third (123) and Central Region member Augustana fourth (222).

Among the teams UNK bested was MIAA rival Central Missouri, No. 19 Southern Indiana and No. 25 Embry Riddle (Fla.).

McCool Junction redshirt junior Luke Stuckey was the first Loper to reach the finish line (32:22.5; 88th place) with Iowa redshirt freshman Myles Bach (32:33.5) 13 places back. Next, Ainsworth redshirt sophomore Ben Arens ran a 32:55.0 to be 128th, Omaha freshman Nick Abdalla was 151st (33:10.0) with Kansas freshman Brett Schoenhofer finishing 197th (34:10.2). UNK's final two entries were Juniata redshirt junior Justin Vrooman (34:52.9; 198 points) and Surprise redshirt junior Eli Frasher (40:42.8; 223 points).

The indoor track and field season begins in early December.

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