MXC national championship results

University Place, Wash.----In only their second finals appearance, the Wingate University Bulldogs finished second in the NCAA Division II men's cross country national championship meet held on the Chambers Creek Regional Park layout Friday. Wingate's second-place showing is the best-ever finish by a Southeast Region school.
 
Four Bulldogs earned All-American honors in record-setting fashion. Sophomore Scott Nutter led the way, breaking his school-record 10K time by almost 25 seconds. Nutter finished 22nd with his 10K time of 30:16.1. Colorado Mines junior Dillon Powell won the national meet with his 10K time of 29:28.0.
 
Nutter's previous 10K school record was 30:41.1, established at the 2021 NCAA Southeast Regional meet in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Each of Wingate's four All-Americans broke Nutter's previous school standard.
 
Meet Information

Top five teams: Colorado Mines (43 points), Wingate (177), Colorado Christian (191), Grand Valley State (209) and Chico State (265)
Individual finishers: 257 student-athletes representing 34 schools
Location: Chambers Creek Regional Park, University Place, Washington
 
Inside the 10K Race Results
 
- Junior Cas Kopmels posted a 10K time of 30:20.7, finishing in 27th place
- Graduate students Oliver Way and Pierre Galbourdin complete Wingate's All-American quartet
- Way ran a 30:25.8 10K race, while Galbourdin recorded a 10K time of 30:26.8
- Way finished 32nd, while Galbourdin was two places back in 34th position
- Junior Soheil Boufrizi was Wingate's fifth finisher, thanks to his 10K time of 31:12.0
- Junior Yonas Sauers ran a 31:13.0 10K race, rounding out the Bulldog top six
 
Notables
 
- Colorado Mines had five runners in the top 23 to take the team title
- Grand Valley State senior Tanner Chada finished second for the second year in a row
- Chada posted a 10K time of 29:47.1, 19 seconds behind gold-medalist Powell
- Colorado Mines graduate student Duncan Fuehne finished third with his 10K time of 29:48.3
- Wingate's SAC rival Anderson finished 23rd
- The third Southeast Region representative Augusta University was next in 24th place

Quotables
 
Wingate head cross country coach Pol Domenech

"I'm still struggling to find the right words to describe how the team is feeling. We have been process-oriented all season long…and today was no different. We wanted to execute a good team race and put the best strategy forward to maximize our potential. We have been practicing on executing correctly as opposed to focusing on outcomes and we saw this today."
 
"It's been a very long season and the pressure was immense. I'm extremely proud of how they handled this. We're going home with an incredible experience and ready to tackle future goals. Indoor season starts next week…and we are already thinking about this."
 
"I would like to give a special mention to Colorado Mines. They were on a league of their own today and the only thing we can do is continue to work to get closer to them over the next few years."

Wingate University
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina. Wingate offers 38 undergraduate majors as well as seven master's and four doctoral degrees. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences; the Levine College of Health Sciences; the Byrum School of Business; the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences. 

Wingate is a leader in healthcare education, and nearly one in five Wingate undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award for 14 years straight. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.