It was all about teamwork for Simon Fraser University in cross-country in 2014.
Clan runners finished seventh overall for a second consecutive season at the NCAA Division II women’s cross-country national championships.
The Great Northwest conference and West Region champion Clan women finished ahead of all regional competitors for a third straight meet this season, edging five-time defending conference champion Alaska Anchorage for seventh place with an overall team time of 1:51.39.9 at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky in December.
“We can’t be disappointed finishing seventh because we were the No. 1 team in the region,” said SFU head coach and West Region coach of the year Brit Townsend.
Grad student Jennifer Johnson and sophomore Rebecca Bassett both earned All-American status, finishing 24th and 35th, respectively, over the 5.78-kilometre distance.
The unseeded SFU men’s team finished in 20th place overall. Oliver Jorgensen led the men’s Clan, placing 75th overall in a time of 32:18.20 in the 9.65km race.
“Our guys … set a goal to make nationals this year, were unranked coming in, and then ran tough and strong to surprise everyone,” Townsend added.
Earlier in the month, the SFU women won their first-ever Great Northwest conference title in the tightest-ever finish in conference cross-country history. Bassett and Johnson placed second and fifth, respectively.
Weeks later, SFU placed first in the women’s division at the West regional qualifying meet in Billings, Montana, while the men qualified for the nats for the first time.
