California Baptist University
NCAA Division II Championship (10K)
Best Season Yet
11/18/2017 3:13:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — California Baptist University continued its stellar running Saturday morning at the NCAA Division II Championship Meet, grabbing its highest placing yet.
The No. 6-ranked Lancers took fifth overall at the Angel Mounds course in Evansville, Ind., with 229 team points, becoming the first PacWest team to crack the top-five.
Not only did CBU best its previous highest ranking – moving up 10 spots from last year's 15th place – the Lancers also finished as the top team in the West, beating out No. 4-ranked Chico State by 106 team points, a tough opponent who previously edged the Lancers back at the regional championship.
"The guys really just came out open-minded, knowing where they could finish," said coach Ben Gall. "This was a huge accomplishment and I'm really proud of them."
Just like he has done all season, PacWest Runner and Freshman of the Year McMarshall Hartzenburg led the Lancers, finishing 20th out of 249 total runners. The freshman crossed the finish line in 31 minutes, 32.08 seconds, earning All-American honors.
"It was good," said Hartzenburg on his thoughts of ending the season off strong. "We came from 15th last year to fifth this year. We really just started believing in each other since Chicago and that really just helped us out a lot."
Simon Bedard followed Hartzenburg, securing All-American honors with his 31st overall finish, crossing the finish line in 31:48.3 in his first time at the NCAA national championships as well. Pierre-Louis Detourbe came sprinting behind Bedard, clocking in at 32:10.8, while Dennis Messmer finished not too far behind in 32:33.1. Michael Lowrie and Messmer stuck tight throughout the race together, as he clocked in right behind him, crossing the finish line in 32:42.9.
"We all ran what we knew we could do," said Lowrie. "It almost feels unreal but you always kinda want something you don't have, every guy out there gave all they could."
Jayden Emerson and Mirco Zenzen clocked in at 33:14.2 and 33:47.3, respectively, to finish the day for the Lancers.
In CBU's phenomenal season – winning its seventh-straight PacWest Championship – the Lancers defeated ranked competition over the course of the season, which was a great step of momentum they can take with them as they are set to compete at the Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference in 2018.
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