ERAU Men's Cross Country Fifth at NAIA National Championship
VANCOUVER, Wash. - The ERAU men's cross country team ended the 2009 season with a fifth place showing at the NAIA National Championships on Saturday. Saturday's meet featured program firsts for Emrby-Riddle as the Eagles' overall finish mark their first top five finish on the national stage, and three Eagle harriers finished among the top 30 to earn ERAU's first All-America cross country honors.
Evans Kirwa finished tenth overall to lead the Blue and Gold with a time of 25:26. It was the highest finish ever for a ERAU men's runner.
Sam Vazquez (25:34) and Russell Snyder (25:43) finished 14th and 22nd respectively and were also named NAIA All-Americans.
Rounding out the Eagle scorers were senior Nick Gehlsen (26:38) in 111th position and Alex Fraizer (27:20) in 186th.
"Our first three guys ran incredible races even though the course was muddy," Eagle coach Mike Rosolino said.
The Eagles scored 264 points with a combined time of 2:10:41. The 32 team event was won by Malone with 44 overall points.