Kenosha, WI (November 22, 2008) --  The Montreat College cross country team returned home yesterday from a great trip to the NAIA Nationals and brought back a great championship experience.  The Cavaliers were led by Wilbourn Kosgei's 25:58 for the 8k course on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Parkside.  Kosgei finished 91st out of 331 runners.

"With the change to direct qualification this year, the national meet added about 100 more runners in each race," said Coach Larios.  "Kosgei wasn't too thrilled about his overall finish but he made a mistake of pressing a little fast and a little too soon, which happens more often than not for those trying to make All-American... and this is the last place you want to make a mistake."

The men's race was won by Aaron Rono from Azusa Pacific in 23:45.

Sophomore Ben Hall did quite well in 27:26 and a 239^th overall place. 

"I was really excited for our underclassmen. This is a high honor for them to even make it here, let alone compete so well on such a tough stage. With the cold wind chill and such a large and talented field, I was really proud of our underclassmen and the way they competed," added Larios. "This is a great experience for them.  They now know what to expect."

On the women's side, it was Elisabeth Elliot (Fr.) that crossed the tape first for the Lady Cavaliers. Elliott ran 19:46 and placed 205^th out of 327. Senior Talisa Bishop did not have the final race of her collegiate career that she was hoping to have as she slipped and fell during the grueling race. Bishop managed to cross the line in 20:35.  Montreat freshman Lindsay Mizok also competed well by running 20:10 and finishing 247th overall.

"The girls ran first and it was a bit colder for them. I think our freshmen were rattled by the elements and the size of this field," said Larios. "But all in all they did well. Elisabeth had a great race and Lindsay has a tremendous future. I was really happy to see them experience this race. As for Talisa, obviously it wasn't the best race for her as a senior, but she's resilient and she'll bounce back for the track seasons.  The team was happy to see that she was honored on Friday night as one of the NAIA Daktronic Scholar Athletes for her academic achievements."

The women's championship race was won by Alissa McKaig from Indiana Tech in a time of 16:41. 

Coach Larios also presented Westmont College with a Montreat College t-shirt as a token of consideration for the loss of their campus in recent wild fires. The team signed the shirt and added encouraging messages as Westmont continues to deal with the recovery of this fire. 

"I presented the shirt to the assistant coach, as head coach Russell Smelly wasn't able to make the trip as he lost his house in the fire as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with Westmont," added Larios.

Full race results can be found here:

Men's results

Women's results