By VANCOUVER, Wash. – Saints Cross Country wrapped up their season at the NAIA National Cross Country Championships Friday.
The Carroll men placed in 20th as a team – their highest finish since 2015. Carroll’s women placed 25th.
Within the Frontier Conference, Rocky Mountain College placed 18th for the men bolstered by individual National Champion Jackson Wilson, with Montana Tech in 25th.
For women, Montana Tech was 23rd and Rocky Mountain 26th. Carroll went into the meet ranked 18th for the men and 17th for the women after winning the Frontier Conference Championship a few weeks ago.
Connor O’Hara was the top scorer for the men placing 74th. Isabelle Ruff was highest for the women in 95th. James Normandeau and Nicole Morgen ran in their final cross country races for the Saints, slotting in as Carroll’s 5th and 6th runners respectively after serving as vital leaders throughout the season. Both O’Hara and freshman Anna Terry showed tremendous poise as they each negotiated the entire race with only one shoe.
“As always, we are proud of these athletes no matter what for how they conduct themselves and connect with each other, and they had an incredible amount of success this season because of their consistent commitment and dedication to our vision as a program,” said Head Coach Shannon Flynn.
“On the men’s side, this was a big step forward for us after hovering around 25th the last few years. For the women, we had a tougher day, but even though the placing may not be what we thought we were capable of, we know we gained valuable experience for the future with such a young group.”
Full results are available here:
https://live.athletictiming.net/meets/28631
Carroll’s distance athletes will take some crucial time off while the track & field team as a whole shifts gears to the competitive track season with the first indoor meet in Bozeman, Mont. on December 7.
