No. 22 WVU Tech claims RSC Men's Cross Country Championship title
No. 22 WVU Tech claims RSC Men's Cross Country Championship title
RESULTS
OWENSBORO, Ky. -- No. 22-ranked WVU Tech ran away with the 2018 River States Conference Men's Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 from Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, Ky. The Golden Bears totaled 29 points and placed six all-conference honorees to claim the conference title.
WVU Tech's Dan Nehnevaj led the Golden Bears to the championship placing first overall with a time fo 26:20. He won the race by 17 seconds to claim RSC Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year and RSC Newcomer of the Year. WVU Tech head coach Jeremy Bloom was awarded RSC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
WVU Tech had four runners in the top 10 with Brandon Hudson (26:43) in fourth, Nicholas Lee (26:48) in fifth and Michael Ecker-Randolph (26:56) in sixth.
Point Park (Pa.) University took runner-up honors led by second-overall finisher Xavier Stephens at 26:37. The Pioneers scored 80 points in the team standings. University of Rio Grande (Ohio) placed third with 93 points followed by Ohio Christian University in fourth with 113 points, IU East in fifth with 133 points and Asbury (Ky.) University in sixth with 163 points to complete the half of the standings.
WVU Tech advances to the NAIA National Championship Nov. 16 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the RSC's only guaranteed nationals bid. Runner-up Point Park would qualify as well provided it is ranked in the Top 30 of the final rankings coming out next week.
The top seven finishers earned All-RSC First Team honors with the next second being named All-RSC Second Team. WVU Tech had a conference-high six honorees followed by Point Park, Rio Grande and Ohio Christian with two each.
The top six individuals not from an automatically qualifying team will also go on to nationals. Barring a second team qualification from the RSC, in line for individual qualification would be Point Park's Xavier Stephens, Asbury's Justin Spoon (3rd, 26:38), Rio Grande's Kameron Carpenter (7th, 26:56), Brescia's Kyle Robinson (8th, 27:00), Rio Grande's Keshawn Jones (9th, 27:05) and Ohio Christian's Drake Dickerson (10th, 27:05).
Also named at the championship was the 2018 River States Conference Men's Cross Country Champions of Character Team. It includes one member from each team nominated by their coach who best exhibits the five character values of NAIA Champions of Charater of respect, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship.
2018 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS & AWARDS
RSC Runner of the Year: Daniel Nehnevaj, WVU Tech
RSC Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Nehnevaj, WVU Tech
RSC Coach of the Year: Jeremy Bloom, WVU Tech
2018 ALL-RSC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY FIRST TEAM
| 1. Daniel Nehnevaj | WVU Tech | 26:20 |
| 2. Xavier Stephens | Point Park (Pa.) | 26:37 |
| 3. Justin Spoon | Asbury (Ky.) | 26:38 |
| 4. Brandon Hudson | WVU Tech | 26:43 |
| 5. Nicholas Lee | WVU Tech | 26:52 |
| 6. Michael Ecker-Randolf | WVU Tech | 26:52 |
| 7. Kameron Carpenter | Rio Grande | 26:56 |
2018 ALLRSC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY SECOND TEAM
| 8. Kyle Robinson | Brescia (Ky.) | 27:00 |
| 9. Keshawn Jones | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 27:05 |
| 10. Drake Dickerson | Ohio Christian | 27:05 |
| 11. Canaan Gardner | Ohio Christian | 27:07 |
| 12. Bryan Gutierrez | Point Park (Pa.) | 27:11 |
| 13. Nathan Morton | WVU Tech | 27:16 |
| 14. Aidan Hearne | WVU Tech | 27:25 |
2018 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TEAM
| Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College | Zachary Templeton |
| Asbury (Ky.) University | Yoel Rivas |
| Brescia (Ky.) University | Kyle Robinson |
| Carlow (Pa.) University | Christopher Woodley |
| Cincinnati Christian University | Chet Mientkiewicz |
| IU East | Johnny Fike |
| IU Kokomo | Adam Rood |
| Midway (Ky.) University | Jacob Stinnett |
| Ohio Christian University | Caleb Greenlee |
| Point Park (Pa.) University | Brody Mihalyo |
| University of Rio Grande (Ohio) | Dean Freitag |
| WVU Tech | Kaeley Boyd |