Saturday, November 22, 2008

NCAA Division II National Cross Country Men's Final Results

Nate Preston of Wayne State College earned All-American honors with a 27th place finish out of 184 runners Saturday at the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.  The top 30 finishers earn NCAA Division II All-American honors.  The race was run in less than ideal conditions with temperatures in the mid 20's and a couple inches of snow on the course.  Preston covered the 10,000-meter course in a time of 32:00 to become the second-ever NCAA All-American cross country runner at Wayne State College, joining James McGown who earned All-American honors in 1997.

"It was a great performance by Nate on a challenging course considering the conditions," said WSC head cross country coach Marlon Brink.  "He ran a solid race and got off to a good start, maitaining his position around the Top 30 the entire race.  His time was only six seconds slower than his regional time so it was a great way to cap off his cross country career by finishing as an All-American."

It's the second straight year the senior from Omaha Benson has qualified for the national meet.  Preston placed 12th at the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships in Kearney on November 8th with a time of 31:54 on the 10,000 meter course to qualify for nationals this weekend.

Last season, Preston finished 83rd out of 187 runners at the NCAA Division II Nationals in Joplin, Missouri in a time of 32:38.  He is the first Wildcat cross country runner to qualify for back-to-back NCAA national meets and the third individual to represent Wayne State College at an NCAA national cross country event.  James McGown competed at nationals in 1995 and '97, earning All-American honors in 1997, while Mark Merritt qualified for nationals in 1997.