CLINTON, Iowa – Paced by junior
Enrique Ramirez's runner-up finish, the Cal State San Marcos men won its seventh consecutive Association of Independent Institution (A.I.I.) Championship title Saturday in Clinton, Iowa.
In very windy conditions and temperatures as low as 35, the tenth-ranked Cougars earned six finishes in the Top 10 for 23 point to defeat No. 7 University of British Columbia who accumulated 33 points.
"I am really proud of the men," said head coach
Steve Scott. "We were losing until Easton (Hackett) passed two guys in the last 800 meters and that was the difference.
"It was a whole team effort."
Ramirez ran the 8K race in a time of 25:23.8 and was followed closely by junior
Steven Ing (25:26.7) who took third place. Freshman
Andrew Tellames, junior
Zach Laurenzana and senior
Easton Tackett placed sixth, seventh and eighth to round out CSUSM scorers.
Sophomore
Daniel Ybarra collected 10th place while junior
Ryan Maize finished in 14th.
UBC's Jack Williams earned his first A.I.I. individual medalist honors after recording a time of 25:20.3.
"UBC is a very formable opponent and we had to run our best race to win this championship," Scott said.
The Cougars will now head to the NAIA National Championships in Lewiston, Kan. looking to come up with another big performance on the national stage. CSUSM finished third in the 2012 national championship, and 13th in last year's meet. British Columbia will join the Cougars as one of the teams competing in the 32-team field Saturday, November 22.
TEAM SCORES1. Cal State San Marcos 23; 2. British Columbia 33; 3. Johnson & Wales (Colo.) 106; 4. Ashford 112; 5. Indiana-Northwest 133; 6. Northern New Mexico 139
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS1. Jack Williams (UBC) – 25:20.3;
2. Enrique Ramirez (CSUSM) – 25:23.8; 3. Steven Ing (CSUSM) – 25:26.7; 4. Evan Wlder (UBC) – 25:34.2;
5. Andrew Tellames (CSUSM) – 25:56.6; 6. Zach Laurenzana (CSUSM) – 26:01.2; 7. Easton Tackett (CSUSM) – 26:03.9; 8. Ben Thorne (UBC) – 26:09.5; 9. Bilal Shamsi (UBC) – 26:11.9;
10. Daniel Ybarra (CSUSM) – 26:16.3; Others Included: 14. Ryan Maize (CSUSM) – 26:43
