Junior Karis Jochen ran at the biggest stage in collegiate cross country and earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championship meet.
On the brisk, overcast morning in Louisville, Kentucky, Karis Jochen represented the Aggies running at the national meet, covering the 6-kilometer course in 20:23.73 to place top 40 to be an All-American.
Jochen, who got off to a delayed start, stuck with the pack in the beginning and passed the 2 kilometer mark at 6:41.8 in 30th. She would fight back to run a time of 20:23.9, capturing 36th finish among the field of 254 runners.
As Jochen crossed the finish line, she was the first runner from a Texas school and fourth runner from the SEC to finish. Jochen’s time on Saturday was the fastest by any Texas A&M female in the national championship race.
Notre Dame’s Molly Seidel, who was a favorite for the women’s individual title, won the Division I women’s race in 19:28.6, five seconds ahead of Boise State’s freshman Allie Ostrander. Dominique Scott, who won the SEC Championship race, finished third Saturday in a time of 19:40.9. Other SEC runners include Tennessee’s Chelsea Blaase placing 14th in 20:07.2, Vanderbilt’s Caroline Pietrzyk finishing 32nd in 20:21.2 and Mississippi State’s Marta Freitas running 20:26.7 for 37th.
New Mexico dominated in Saturday’s race, taking home the women’s team title with 49 points over Colorado, who scored 129 points, while Oregon took third totaling 214 points. Rounding off the top ten teams were Providence (231), North Carolina State (264), Michigan (264), Oklahoma State (274), Notre Dame (276), Arkansas (276) and Washington (297).
Edward Cheserek, the junior from Oregon, won the individual men’s title in a record breaking performance. He garnered his third consecutive NCAA Championship title, a feat no other runner has done. He covered the 10 kilometer course in 28:45.8 over Villanova’s Patrick Tiernan, who led most of the race, in 29:11.1. Pierce Murphy of Colorado placed third at 29:37.0 while Syracuse’s Justyn Knight finished fourth overall in 29:46.1.
Syracuse captured the men’s team title with 92 points ahead of the two-time defending national champion Colorado, who totaled 91 points. Stanford took third with 151 points while Oregon had 183. Other teams among the the top 10 were Iona (244), Arkansas (244), Louisville (331), Washington (345), Michigan (348) and Georgetown (352).
