LEWISTON, Idaho – At the 2020 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Cross Country Championships, the Corban University men's and women's cross country squads turned in strong efforts, earning sixth-place honors as a team for both the men and the women. Earning a top-10 placer in each of the races, the Warrior harriers hung tough with an uber competitive field.
Robert Swoboda (6th place) and Gracie Long (10th place) each finished in the top 10 of their respective races.
To view the men's results, CLICK HERE.
To view the women's results, CLICK HERE.
"We felt very good with our top runners coming back from injury," said head coach Norm Berney. "We had mixed results and small health issues with some of our runners, such as side aches and shin splints. Robert ran a 25:00 finishing sixth All-CCC with an automatic berth to Nationals, and Gracie ran an 18:00 placing tenth All-CCC, and is waiting to see if she gets an at-large berth. She also eclipsed Lexi Mitzel's school record by nine seconds."
Swoboda's time of 25:00 was just 42 seconds off the pace of the eventual race victor Cole Olsen for Lewis-Clark State. Finishing ahead of Swoboda were the aforementioned Olsen, Mark French (Oregon Tech), Clayton Vandyke (LCSC), Micah Murphy (Northwest), and Travis Running (Eastern Oregon). His sixth-place spot earns him All-CCC honors and a trip to the NAIA National Championships.
The next finisher for the men was freshman Brody Gerig, who turned heads at the meet by running at a 27:27 pace and was tailed closely by fellow freshman Samuel Alvarez, who was the next one to cross the line at 27:56.
Ketner Mizee and James Busch ended up finishing 44th and 48th, respectively. Mizee finished at 28:13 and Busch ended the race with a time of 28:33.
For the Corban women, Gracie Long became Corban University's school record holder in the 5K, with a time of 18:00. She surpassed the title held by Lexi Mitzel of 18:09 in 2013 at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invite. Her 10th place finish puts her in the running for an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships race, along with earning her All-CCC plaudits for the 2020-21 season.
Sydney Nichol finished out the race in 27th position, as she was Corban second female finisher, but was closely followed by Kira Bowers. Bowers ended up tied for 31st place, with a time of 19:07.
Samantha Dara and Isabela Kacalek rounded out the counting times for the Navy and Gold, as they finished 38th and 45th in the standings.
The Warriors will wait to see if they will send two representatives to the NAIA National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on April 9 at Seminole Valley. The at-large bids will be announced on March 30 at 3 p.m. PST, as Long will hope to have her name called by the selection committee to participate in her first ever National Championship race.
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