COMPLETE RESULTS ST. LEO, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's cross country team claimed third place overall at the NCAA Division II South Regional Championships and advanced to the national tournament, along with women's runner
Anabel Knoll who finished third as an individual. The championship races took place at the Abbey Golf Course early on Saturday morning.
The men's 10K race consisted of 93 total runners, in which NSU claimed three spots in the top 25. The Sharks placed third out of 14 total participating teams with a score of 110 points, just one point ahead of fourth place Alabama-Huntsville. The women's 6K meet had a larger competition with a total of 109 runners and 15 teams. The Sharks were able to fit one woman into the top 25 and finish ninth overall as a team with a total of 224 points, just seven points shy of conference rival Florida Tech.
Christian Oppel (Sr., Lautertal, Germany) led the Sharks by finishing seventh overall with a time of 33:17 and will now be included among NSU's top 20 best 10K times of all-time. Following Oppel was
Long Tran (Sr., Saigon, Vietnam), who finished in 19th place with a time of 34:10. Also in the top 25 overall and another All-South Regional member was
Thomas Ingalls (Jr., St. George, Utah) who made the 24th spot with a time 34:23. Earning honorable mention was
Ian McQuate (So., Keaau, Hawaii) who stepped his performance up and finished in 34th place with a time of 35:34. Finishing out the top five runners for NSU was
Wade White (Jr., Bangor, Pa.) who followed McQuate closely and attributed to the team's overall success with a time of 35:41.
Without failure, Knoll (Fr., Ingolstadt, Germany) once again shined in a 6K competition. Knoll had an impressive race where she finished third overall and recorded her personal-best 6K time with a time of 22:11. She continues to break records and will now advance into the national tournament as an individual. In the 31st spot the Sharks had
Imke Oelerich (
Sr., Braunschweig, Germany) finish with a time of 24:03. Behind her was Stephanie De La Guarda (So., Miami, Fla.) in the 50th spot with a time of 24:42. With a gap of seven seconds in between were
Sarah Neukam (Fr., Erlangen, Germany) and
Kelsey Fox (Fr., Sicklerville, N.J.) who placed 76th and 78th respectively.The Sharks now look to prepare for the upcoming NCAA Division II National Championships that will be hosted in Joplin, Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 21.
