River States Conference

Berea's Cross Country Team Claims 7th Conference Title

12/21/2011 12:00:00 AM

Having won six consecutive KIAC (Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) titles, the Berea College Cross Country team hit the trails this fall determined to write another chapter in the storied tradition of the program. And they did, winning their seventh consecutive conference championship.

The men's squad claimed seven of the top 10 finishing spots, including the top spot, captured by conference Runner of the Year Austin Houchens. National qualifiers included:

• Austin Houchens (2014) - Bowling Green, KY
• Darryll Patrick (2013) - Hamersville, OH
• Scott Kenney (2013) - Russellville, KY; 2011 NAIA Scholar-Athlete
• Jeffrey Johnson (2013) - Austin, IN
• Jakub Lonsky (2014) - Dolny Kubin, Slovakia
• Tarrance O'Connor (2014) - Warsaw, KY

The conference championship earned the Mountaineers an automatic berth in the NAIA National Championships, held at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington on November 19. They were joined by female individual qualifier Shaina Mason (Pisgah Forest, NC).

The path to qualifying for the trip to Vancouver may have been easier than actually getting there. An early morning flight from Louisville was delayed by engine problems, causing the team to miss their connecting flight in Chicago. Forced to split up, the group arrived in Vancouver at different times, making a long trip even longer and disrupting the squad's pre-race routine and training. The lack of sleep and increased levels of stress wore slightly on the eight runners but, upon arriving in Vancouver, they quickly turned their attention to the "rolling, European-style" loop ahead of them.

On race day, the Mountaineers finished just shy of a top 25 spot, posting a team time of 2:18:25. "I think the team did very well," says coach Mike Johnson. "The competition was stronger than last year but the team improved over last year's finish by moving up two positions from 29^th to 27^th."

Senior Jarrett Blankenship, from Bowling Green, Ky., feels this is an indication of just where the program is headed. "I think that we are transitioning Berea College Cross Country into a national powerhouse," said Blankenship in an interview shortly after the team returned from Washington. "Despite only jumping two spots from nationals last year, we are making leaps and bounds for our program." Blankenship credits the team's work ethic, pointing out that the seven national qualifiers put in "50-90 miles per week" during the summer. Those workouts were enhanced this fall by assistant coach Shawn Jakubowski, who Blankenship says designs "workouts that others can only dream of."