The Simon Fraser University men’s cross-country team is headed back to nationals in Joplin, Mo., thanks to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA West regionals.
Three Clan runners secured top-20 results at the West Regional Division II cross-country championships at Western Oregon University, earning a spot at the Nov. 21 nationals.
“I am so happy for our men because they deserved it. They focused and believed in themselves and they showed incredible passion and enthuasiasm all year long,” said Clan head coach Brit Townsend. “We knew there were only four spots and everyone ran as well as they possibly could.”
Leading SFU was junior Oliver Jorgensen, who finished fifth. He covered the 10,000-metre course in a time of 29:59.40, 30 seconds behind individual champion Henry Cheseto of Alaska Anchorage.
Four men’s teams and three individuals qualified for the national meet.
SFU’s Jorgensen was followed closely by Marc-Antoine Rouleau and Burnaby’s Cameron Proceviat, 16th and 17th, respectively. Rouleau and Proceviat, a Moscrop alum, were separated by two-tenths of a second, finishing in at 30:28.17 and 30:28.40.
Simon Fraser placed all five scoring runners among the top 36 with GNAC Freshman of the Year Sean Miller coming 33rd (30:57.95) and Brendan Wong 36th (31:05.83).
