Final Results (PDF)
All-Conference Team (PDF)
PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – For the second time in three years, Walsh celebrated a team title at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship held Saturday at the Laurel School-Butler Campus.
After Malone had a turn at the top of the league in 2018, Walsh was able to reclaim championship status after also winning in 2017, the Cavaliers’ first year as a conference member.
The men’s 8K course had 12 teams competing in the field with Walsh scoring a total of 35 points. The Cavaliers became the first official team champion for the 2019-20 academic year as the women’s 6K competition followed after.
Fourteen different men’s student-athletes were recognized with all-conference recognition, the top seven receiving first-team honors and the next wave of seven making the second team.
The Cavaliers made their impact in the all-conference team with five total selections, including Noah Murray and Jacob Caniford stacked at second and third. Drew Roberts was in seventh while Beau Boyden and Jay Lutton all finishing near the top of the pack.
The senior experience from Murray and Caniford was on display to push their team to victory. Murray is now a three-time all-conference honoree and for Caniford, it was his second.
On paper, losing contributors from 2018 like Jacob Kernell, Jacob Turner and Mark Hadley, would be tough to replace, but Walsh keeps reloading talent on the roster.
Walsh has also claimed back-to-back freshman of the year honors with Boyden in 2018 and now Roberts, who has been athlete of the week in the conference multiple times as a rookie.
Another former conference freshman of the year, Malone’s Zach Fresenko, had a strong race to finish fourth for first team all-conference recognition. The Pioneers placed third and Cedarville was fourth while Tiffin rounded out the top five teams.
Trevecca Nazarene was sixth and Kentucky Wesleyan close behind in seventh as Ohio Valley, Findlay and Ohio Dominican, rounded out the top 10, respectively.
Everyone in the field was chasing NCAA All-American Joseph Humes, the senior standout from Hillsdale. The Chargers showed plenty of emotion at the finish line as the team runner-up, but certainly pushed Walsh as Mark Miller and Morgan Morris were bookends at fifth and sixth place.
Humes was recognized as the Great Midwest Runner of the Year as he completed the four laps in 24:05.10.
The Great Midwest Coach of the Year was Walsh’s Rob Mizicko as he guided his program to the team title. The Cavaliers are also ranked No. 23 in the USTFCCCA rankings and fourth in the Midwest Region rankings.
The Midwest Regionals, a 10K distance, are next for Great Midwest teams in Evansville, Ind. Teams and individuals will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships out in Sacramento, Calif.