Men's Cross Country | 11/18/2017 1:36:00 PM

ELSAH, IL – The RIT No. 23 men's cross country team finished 27th out of 32 teams at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships at North Farm Facility hosted by Principia College through the wind and rain on Saturday, Nov. 18.

With hair dyed orange, the Tigers competed in their 19th NCAA Cross Country Championship as a team in program history and first since 2009, recording 626 team points. North Central College won its 18th national title with a team score of 57 points, while Wisconsin-La Crosse was runner-up with 196 points and Christopher Newport was third. Geneseo was the top finisher from the Atlantic Region, finishing 11th.

Darin Lau of Wisconsin-Eau Claire led from start to finish over the 8,000-meter course, claiming the 2017 NCAA National Championship by nearly nine seconds in a time of 24:03.59. Three runners from the Atlantic Region earned All-Americans honors.

Junior Otto Kingstedt (Stockholm, Sweden/Cybergymnasiet) was RIT's top finisher, placing 103rd overall, completing the race in a time of 25:31.69. Classmate Evan Feigel (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) finished 122nd overall with a time of 25:38.49.

Seniors John Mooney (Norwich, NY/Norwich) and James Bailey (Danvers, MA/Danvers) finished 197th and 209th respectively. Mooney crossed the finish line in a time of 26:04.93, while Bailey finished in 26:11.9. Bailey was looking to become RIT cross country's fifth dual All-American, as he placed 27th at the 2016 NCAA Championship.

Sophomore Reid Kovacs (Palo Alto, CA/Henry M. Gunn) crossed the finish line right behind Bailey in 26:12.46 to place 211th overall. Junior Dan Jones (Lockport, NY/Lockport) was 255th (26:48.56) and sophomore Andrew Chabot (Campton, NH/Plymouth Regional) finished 278th (27:58.38).

"It was not our best day, but I am proud of how we pushed through tough circumstances today," said RIT head coach David Warth.

RIT qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing third at the NCAA Atlantic Regional last weekend. Kingstedt, Bailey, Feigel and Mooney earned All-Region honors.