Photo by: Sideline Media Productions
Men’s Cross Country Finishes 28th at XC Nationals
11/18/2023 4:08:00 PM | Cross Country
Harvard’s Graham Blanks, Oklahoma State take home individual and team title
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 20th-ranked Gonzaga men's cross country team competed at their fourth-straight NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Panorama Farms Cross Country Course. In the second race of the day and in front of 5,000 fans in attendance, the GU men placed 28th as a team.
Wil Smith was the first Zag runner to cross the finish line at 111th in a time of 30:38.3. Bryce Cerkowniak, the only other GU runner besides Smith in this year's lineup who raced in last year's championship meet, was five seconds behind with a 120th place, 30:43.8 finish.
Behind the NCAA meet returners were newcomers Michael Maiorano and Logan Law, who placed 149th (31:03.1) and 191st (31:37.9), respectively. Cooper Laird and Paul Talens went back-to-back at 213th and 214th with times of 32:03.2 and 32:06.3. First-year transfer Drew Kolodge was the seventh runner in Gonzaga's lineup for the day but did not finish.
Harvard's Graham Blanks completed his undefeated season with a 28:37.7 winning time, edging New Mexico's Habtom Samuel (28:40.7) by three seconds. Oklahoma State avenged a second place finish to Northern Arizona last season by securing the team title on Saturday. The Sooners finished with 49 team points after placing all five point-scorers in the Top-15.
Although not a finish the GU men hoped for, Head Coach Pat Tyson and captain Wil Smith were quick to note an entire lineup of returners for next year.
"You can't read about this in the newspaper. You have to experience it to know what it's really like," Tyson noted of this year's team. "Having everybody back next year, it's a good thing."
"There's a little bit of excitement knowing we return everybody from this roster," Smith said. "We're definitely bummed, but also fired up."
Among the highlights of this season include the first West Coast Conference title in men's program history, and a second-consecutive automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championships. The record book will include many new names and times and will look a bit different than it did at the beginning of the season.
"It's kind of bittersweet just looking back at how we fought back this season. I think everyone's really proud of that," Smith said. "With how young this group is, I think just getting to the National meet after we really weren't supposed to says a lot about this group of guys."
"WCC Champions, automatic qualifiers, 28th in the country. A lot of people would've traded places with that," Tyson said. "I'm very proud of their season and that they got to come to the NCAA Championships as an automatic qualifier."
RESULTS
Wil Smith was the first Zag runner to cross the finish line at 111th in a time of 30:38.3. Bryce Cerkowniak, the only other GU runner besides Smith in this year's lineup who raced in last year's championship meet, was five seconds behind with a 120th place, 30:43.8 finish.
Behind the NCAA meet returners were newcomers Michael Maiorano and Logan Law, who placed 149th (31:03.1) and 191st (31:37.9), respectively. Cooper Laird and Paul Talens went back-to-back at 213th and 214th with times of 32:03.2 and 32:06.3. First-year transfer Drew Kolodge was the seventh runner in Gonzaga's lineup for the day but did not finish.
Harvard's Graham Blanks completed his undefeated season with a 28:37.7 winning time, edging New Mexico's Habtom Samuel (28:40.7) by three seconds. Oklahoma State avenged a second place finish to Northern Arizona last season by securing the team title on Saturday. The Sooners finished with 49 team points after placing all five point-scorers in the Top-15.
Although not a finish the GU men hoped for, Head Coach Pat Tyson and captain Wil Smith were quick to note an entire lineup of returners for next year.
"You can't read about this in the newspaper. You have to experience it to know what it's really like," Tyson noted of this year's team. "Having everybody back next year, it's a good thing."
"There's a little bit of excitement knowing we return everybody from this roster," Smith said. "We're definitely bummed, but also fired up."
Among the highlights of this season include the first West Coast Conference title in men's program history, and a second-consecutive automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championships. The record book will include many new names and times and will look a bit different than it did at the beginning of the season.
"It's kind of bittersweet just looking back at how we fought back this season. I think everyone's really proud of that," Smith said. "With how young this group is, I think just getting to the National meet after we really weren't supposed to says a lot about this group of guys."
"WCC Champions, automatic qualifiers, 28th in the country. A lot of people would've traded places with that," Tyson said. "I'm very proud of their season and that they got to come to the NCAA Championships as an automatic qualifier."
RESULTS
| Men's 10K Championship | ||
| 111 | Wil Smith | 30:38.3 |
| 120 | Bryce Cerkowniak | 30:43.8 |
| 149 | Michael Maiorano | 31:03.1 |
| 191 | Logan Law | 31:37.9 |
| 213 | Cooper Laird | 32:03.2 |
| 214 | Paul Talens | 32:06.3 |
| Full Results | ||
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Tuesday, June 30
Monday, June 29
Monday, June 29
Friday, June 26
