CHINO HILLS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran men's cross country runners toed the line for the final time in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition at Prado Park this morning, combining for an 8th place finish at the Championship meet.
Donning the Violet and Gold for the final time today in SCIAC action was a pair of seniors in Dominick Allen (28:09.36) and Shawn Jackson (29:11.37) with both earning points for CLU in his final league race. Allen and Jackson shave off more than 40 seconds apiece from the same race a year ago.
Matt Garvin was the top CLU finisher, running the 8K in 27:33.70 to place 32nd overall. His time was more than 13 seconds ahead of his pace in 2012.
Coming in third for the Kingsmen today was Nick Privitelli who ran a 28:00.94 and fourth across the line for Cal Lutheran today was David Avila (28:56.52). In his second SCIAC Championship race Privitelli dropped more than 36 seconds from his previous race at Prado Park.
Also competing for CLU were Garrett Baker (29:33.83), Ryan Perez (29:41.05) and Christopher Dunn (33:28.80), each navigating this course for the first time.
The team competition was very close. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps earned the team title with 51 combined points to become back-to-back SCIAC champions. Pomona-Pitzer was six points behind to finish second with 57 and Occidental was three back of that mark to place third with 60. La Verne (91), Whittier (120), Caltech (184), Redlands (194) and Cal Lutheran (204) rounded out the scoring. Chapman did not field a team and therefore forfeited, finishing ninth.
Earning both the Runner of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors was Occidental junior transfer John Guzman who ran a 25:30.19 ahead of teammate Colin Smith (25:36.81) to take the top two spots for the Tigers. Guzman tallied three total points this fall to earn the Runner of the Year.
For the first time in league history the Ray Adkinson Award was presented to a runner exemplifying great character and athletic ability as well as sportsmanship and efforts in both the classroom and community. Voting for the inaugural award was a tie with four recipients, Mike Ignatowich (CIT), Ryan Kammerman (Oxy), Alexander Johann (PP) and Hayden Schmidt (WC) being recognized.
Cal Lutheran will send a select group to compete at the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country West Regional meet hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 11:00 a.m.
Results: CLU - 8th
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