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Head Coach Jose Larios didn't have to travel far for his newest addition to his cross country and track program. Montreat College is excited to announce the signing of local standout runner, Hunter Howe of Enka High School.
Howe is a two-time captain and MVP of the Enka Jets cross country team. He signs with Montreat College as a two-time All-Mountain Athletic Conference runner and a state cross country championship qualifier.
Coach Larios is thrilled to have Howe wear the Cavalier uniform next fall. "Hunter is a first class young man. Our eagerness to pursuit him was centered on his character and academics. Our guys on the team really wanted Hunter, and we're excited that he chose Montreat over his other options. Hunter's passion for Christ and solid team chemistry makes him a great fit for our men's program. He has a loving and supportive family that we expect will add to our already great family of fan support."
Aside from Howe's great character, Coach Larios is excited in his potential as a collegiate runner.
"I think Hunter has a great upside. He's played a variety of sports in high school, one of those very active young men. Once he concentrates on building a base of workload and more specific training, I believe he will make an impact on our team and in our conference."
Howe is also an honor student at Enka High School with personal best marks of 16:58/5K and 4:57 in the 1600m.
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The Cavalier cross country team represented Montreat College in grand fashion yesterday in Vancouver, Washington. On a muddy and sloppy course at Fort Vancouver Historic Park, the Cavaliers were led by senior and four-time national championship qualifier Wilbourn Kosgei.
Kosgei managed to cross the finish line in 54th place with a time of 26:10. This was Kosgei's highest finish at the national championship.
"We're really proud at the way Wilbourn raced today. He's more of a finesse runner, built more for the track, so I knew the footing would be an issue for him. But, he got into the top ten and twenty spots and held on for dear life," said Coach Larios. "This was a great way for him to end his collegiate cross country career. He was twenty-one seconds out of All-American, which at the national championship meant twenty-four places."
"This national championship trip was the best by far. With Nike as the sponsor, it felt like a great championship," said Kosgei. "The course however was the toughest, with the many sharp turns and muddy sections made it very demanding."
The 2009 men's NAIA national champion was Silas Kisorio from Oklahoma Christian in a time of 24:23. The men's team championship was won by Malone College with a score of 22 points; Malone won for the third consecutive year placing three runners in the top 10 and placing all five scorers in the top 16.
"One way how we determine our national championship performance is by comparing ourselves to our conference runners. Two weeks ago at the AAC's, Wilbourn and Ben Hall placed seventh and eleventh. Today, among our conference runners, we placed second and seventh. I felt our difficult course back home prepared us well for today's race. There were many muddy spots where runners were falling and many shoes were sucked right off runners' feet. All in all, I felt our guys did a fantastic job representing Montreat College."
Ben Hall also put together a solid performance by crossing the finish line in 27:27 in 202nd place out of 323 runners.
"Ben managed to beat one solid Milligan runner and three very good Bryan College runners that beat him at the conference meet two weeks ago. I felt he stepped up big time on a day that many runners found it hard to do," praised Coach Larios.
On the women's side, California State San Marcos surprised many teams to take the team title with 137 points, just three points better than Biola University's 140 points. The women's individual champion was Justyna Mudy from Shorter College in a time of 17:30.
Making her national championship debut, Olivia Mills followed the guys solid performance from earlier in the day. Mills finished in 20:47, good enough for 216th place out of 330 competitors.
"Olivia ran great. She was able to outrun four girls that beat her two weeks ago at the AAC's. On top of that, she ran her fastest race of the entire season on a course where many coaches felt was running 30 to 40 seconds slower," added Coach Larios. "I don't think she could have run much better for her first national championship."
The team will arrive back into Montreat College late Sunday and will take a few days off before preparing for a short indoor track season.
Full results may be found HERE.
The team arrived safely in Portland, Oregon on Thursday afternoon and wasted no time before having a light practice at the championship site.
"The course is fair and rolling. I think it's going to be super muddy and sloppy," said Coach Larios. "It's a great honor to represent Montreat College out here. There are so many great teams and runners. Our athletes are ready to give their best effort and make the most of this memorable trip."
On Friday evening, the Cavaliers took a trip to the Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. They attended the NAIA championship banquet at the Tiger Wood Center; the banquet was followed by the annual pre-race Champions of Character award ceremony. Montreat's Ben Hall was recognized as a 2009 NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
This championship race will serve as Wilbourn Kosgei's final collegiate cross country meet. Kosgei has qualified for four consecutive NAIA National Cross Country Championships. This year will be Ben Hall's second consecutive trip to nationals while Olivia Mills, recognized as an AAC All-Freshman, will be representing Montreat College in her first national championship.
Official results of both races may be found on the NAIA Cross Country Championship results page.
