Men's Cross Country | 11/9/2024 9:54:56 PM
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- The Bears of Shawnee State University remained the top men's cross country program in the River States Conference, winning their second straight RSC title Saturday morning at the Angel Mounds Historic Site in Evansville, Indiana. The Bears repeated as champions in their second season in the league, and moved their streak to nine straight conference titles dating back to their time in the Mid-South Conference.
Saturday's race featured three of the nation's top 20 teams, with Rio Grande ranked eighth, Shawnee State ranked 19th, and IU East ranked 20th in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll. Shawnee State won the team title by four points over Rio Grande, with IU East another nine points back. Shawnee State's team title was powered by placing all five of their scoring runners in the top 15.
Rio Grande's Tyler Jenkins won the individual title, and took home RSC Runner of the Year honors. Jenkins ran the Angel Mounds course in 24:52.3, with Jenkins and IU East's Mylan Nocton the only runners to check in under 25 minutes. The top freshman in the field was Rio Grande's Duncan Kogei, who placed third overall to earn Newcomer of the Year honors.
The four runners guaranteed to earn a spot in nationals were Jenkins, Nocton, Kogei, and Midway's Josiah Kocis. If nationally-ranked teams such as Rio Grande and IU East earn at-large bids to the national championships, the River States' individual qualifier list would continue to be filled, with runners in the top 15 of the meet eligible.
Shawnee State and the qualified runners advance to the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, held this year at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri. Shawnee State finished 12th in the nation at nationals last season.
2024 River States Conference Men's Cross Country Awards
RSC Runner of the Year: Tyler Jenkins, Rio Grande
RSC Newcomer of the Year: Duncan Kogei, Rio Grande
RSC Coach of the Year: Conner Flynn, Shawnee State
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Tyler Jenkins, Rio Grande
Mylan Nocton, IU East
Duncan Kogei, Rio Grande
Isaiah Lanoy, Shawnee State
Josiah Kocis, Midway
Cameron Nocton, IU East
Kaiden Lanoy, Shawnee State
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Trevor Lanoy, Shawnee State
Thomas Chapman, St. Mary-of-the-Woods
Shawn Little, Shawnee State
Jacob Kocis, Midway
Wes Taylor, Rio Grande
Axton Fosnaugh, IU East
Dylan French, Shawnee State
THIRD TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Danuel Persinger, Rio Grande
Kasy Science, Rio Grande
Teagen Rodriguez, IU East
Richard Bower, IU East
Carson Milner, Midway
Ryder Crawford, Rio Grande
Mugisha Pomossene, Rio Grande