Results
ELSAH, Ill. – Messiah's
Benjamin Schott finished 73rd overall at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships this afternoon, doing so with a time of 25:20.16. This was Schott's second-straight year competing at the Championships.
Last season Schott finished 80th at the race in Louisville, Ky., with a time of 25:19.1.
"I thought Ben ran really well," said Messiah head coach
Dale Fogelsanger. "It was really windy, and the temperature seemed to drop 30 degrees as the race began to start. It really got cold as the race wore on.
"It was great to see Ben run so well on a tough course. He did better than last year (at the Championships) and this was a really tough course."
At the first mile marker Schott was in 123rd place, but he moved up to 81st by the end of mile two thanks to his fastest mile time (4:52). He then held mostly steady, with mile times of 5:11 (third mile) and 5:13 (fourth). He finished with a time of 4:55 over the final mile to finished 73rd.
Schott was cheered along by 22 teammates and Messiah student-athletes—and also the coaching staff— that traveled out to see the race.
"It was a good race on a difficult course," Schott said. "The weather made it interesting, especially the wind, but I just worked on moving up a little each mile. I'm happy with the result."
