NYU men and women’s cross country teams both finished 22nd at the National College Athletic Association National Division III Championship on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the LaVern Gibson Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
The men’s team had finished first at the NCAA D-III Atlantic Regional Championship, which guaranteed them their seventh-straight appearance at the NCAA National Championship. After the race, the Violets were ranked fifth in the nation by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The last time the Violets won the Regional Championship was in 2007, and they went on to win the NCAA D-III National Championship.
Coach Nick McDonough was also named D-III Men’s Cross Country Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. McDonough was also awarded National Coach of the Year in 2007.
The Violets placed 22nd of 32 teams with a total of 540 points on the 8k course. North Central College won the championship with 167 points followed by Calvin College with 188 and Haverford College with 189.
The first Violet to cross the finish line with a time of 25:14.5 was senior captain Kevin Bonilla. Bonilla placed 46th out of 280 competitors.
Senior Tim Nelson of the University of Wisconsin-Stout was the NCAA D-III National cross country champion when he finished with a time of 24:26.8.
The only other Violet to finish in the top 100 was senior captain Dylan Karten, placing 68th with a time of 25:29.3. Karten had finished second at the Atlantic Regional Championship.
“Our performance this season and our result yesterday don’t add up,” Karten said. “I think all of us knew it just wasn’t our day yesterday.”
The third point scorer for NYU was junior Ross Wistar, who had a time of 26:17.4 for a 189th place finish. The last two point scorers were senior captain Dave Knowles in 204th (26:23.7) and sophomore Sebastien Oja in 216th in 26:33.1.
“There’s not much else to do but look forward to next year and hope we can begin training and keep everybody healthy,” Karten said. “We have a lot of young talent on the team and the key to next year will be developing it.”
NYU women’s cross country competed at Nationals for the fourth year in a row on the 6k course. The Violets finished 22nd, eight spots above their place last year, and an all-time best for the program. Johns Hopkins University won the championship with 158 points and Wartburg College finished second with 221 points.
Senior Kirsten Keller had the best finish for NYU, placing 77th out of 277 runners with a time of 22:35.2. Junior Emily Cousens also finished in the top 100 with a time of 22:38.4 and 87th place.
The final three scorers for NYU were freshman Lily Corsaro in 146th (23:03.7), senior captain Georgina Norton in 167th (23:12.5) and freshman Sarah Sisk in 236th (23:54.5).
Senior Cristy Cazzola of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh was the women’s cross country champion and finished the race in 20:53.3.
The National Championships were the last competition of the year for both the men’s and
women’s cross country teams.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 19 print edition. Mary Jane Dumankaya is deputy sports editor. Email her at [email protected].