Sports
2007 NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championships
Occidental's 1-2 men's duo of Kevin Chaves and Alex Ramon led
the Tigers to an 18th place team finish Saturday, November 17 at
the 2007 NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championships.
The meet was hosted by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
and was run in occasional snow flurries with temps in the high
30s.
Chaves got out well early and was running in third place mid-way
through the race before dropping back to finish 7th in 24:47 over
the 8000m (5 mile) course. Chaves, the 2007 SCIAC Runner of the
Year and the West Region Runner of the Year, is a senior. Teammate
Alex Ramon continued to impress on his way back from injury to
finish 15th in 24:59. Both earned All-America honors by placing in
the top 35 individually.
Behind Chaves and Ramon, Occidental's Keith Blumenfeld (109th,
25:52), Galen Smith (194th, 26:19) and David Martinez (260th,
27:12) rounded out the Tiger top five, which scored 451 points..
Occidental was the only SCIAC team in the men's race, which was won
by New York University with 128 points.
Other SCIAC men's individuals included Claremont-Mudd-Scripps frosh
Brian Kopczynski (142nd, 26:03), and Chris Smith of Redlands
(232nd, 26:42). A total of 280 runners finished the race.
On the women's side, Pomona-Pitzer sophomore and SCIAC Runner of
the Year Alicia Freese finished a strong 47th place in 22:29 over
the 6000m (3.7 mile) course, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps junior
Evelyn Ross took 81st in 22:50 and Occidental's Maddie Weissman was
154th in 23:18. A total of 280 women ran in the race. No SCIAC
women's teams qualified to the meet.