By Zack Hill |ContributorPITTSBRUGH, Pa.—The ground of Schenley Park on Saturday, Dec. 1, the day of the NCAA Division II cross country championship, was soaked and covered with water-filled craters and traction-less mud. The conditions seemed better suited for a war film than a running competition; the expressions and attitudes on display, however, were perfectly suited for either. The parallel was obvious, a battle was about to be had.As the race started and set off the explosive amount of energy any national championship is guaranteed to deliver, the starting gun fired out at least a dozen shots and sent the runners back to the line: it was a false start.The race began again for real with likely eased tensions and sent mud flying and the earth shaking. Spectating was a race in and of itself, as fellow runners and parents zoomed to the next spot to watch the five-lap, 10-kilometer race.Out of the three main components of running—leg speed, aerobic endurance and mental toughness—the latter was most important in Pittsburgh. Runners would drop out and appear in need of medical assistance. Despite the adrenaline rush of being in the national championship field, the conditions guaranteed that times were very slow.
For Augusta University, Hunter Kimball was first over the line in 55th place in 33 minutes, 52.7 seconds, the best-ever national performance by an Augusta XC athlete.“I had the game plan to get up to the front of the race and hang on, and that’s what I did and it worked out well for me,” Kimball said. “I hurt the entire time and these were the worst conditions I’ve ever seen. At the starting line I told myself to just send it, and I definitely sent it."As an athlete, this is a great result due to a lot of hard work and dedication. ”Senior Noah Hulett followed Kimball in 83rd place with a time of 34:21.6 in his last race for the Jaguars.“I’m pretty pleased," Hulett said. "I beat guys I’ve never beaten in my life."Augusta had no DNFs and came in 28th overall after finishing 23rd last season.AU Coach Adam Ward was very stoical in the aftermath and thinking strategically about the future.“This was a business trip, not a vacation," Ward said. "We’re young and we’ll be back.”The Jaguars, who had a very young team this season, finished ahead of Peach Belt Conference champion UNC Pembroke, which finished 32nd. The top finisher from the Southeast was Queens University of Charlotte, N.C.In addition to Kimball and Hulett, sophomore Jacob Boston came in 195th with a time of 35:56.0. Next was and freshman Chandler Kennedy in 230th place with a time of 36:45.6. Freshmen Joshua Seiden and Rakeem Littles were next. Seiden finished 238th and and Littles 258th.The top-40 finishers in the national title race were named All-Americans, meaning Kimball was just outside that status. There were 261 runners in the race.For the season, four Jags were named all-region and all-Peach Belt Conference. Overall, AU was top-three in every race entering the national championship, including two first-place finishes in regular-season meets.Marcelo Laguera of Colorado State-Pueblo won the individual championship, edging Zach Panning of Grand Valley State. Laguera ran a 31:46.4 and Penning 31:53.6.Grand Valley edged Colorado Mines for the team title, 89-99. Western Colorado finished third.