Western State reclaimed the Division II Men's Cross Country Championships team title from defending champion and cross-state rival Adams State, and became the most successful squad in championships history in the process.

The Mountaineers won their fifth title in six years in convincing fashion, placing five scorers among the top 16 individually and beating Adams State by 37 points. Western State junior Oliver Bodor nearly claimed the individual title as well, but Abilene Christian freshman Nicodemus Naimadu outleaned him at the finish to win by one-tenth of a second.

Kelly Christensen of Western State, who won every previous meet he ran in this year, also kept pace with Naimadu and Bodor over most of the muddy course November 20 at Southern Indiana, before dropping back slightly to finish third, less than 14 seconds behind. Also scoring for the Mountaineers were Will Banks in sixth, Tim Parr in 12th and Scott Swearingen in 16th place.

The team victory was Western State's sixth overall, giving it more wins than any other Division II school. The Mountaineers were tied with Adams State and former Division II member South Dakota State with five titles apiece entering the event.

The race was run in cool weather under overcast skies, but not even sloppy footing dampened contestants' enthusiasm for the Evansville, Indiana, course.

"It was an unbelievably good course," said Western State coach Duane Vandenbusche, who has coached all of the school's men's championship teams at the school, beginning with a 1995 title. "It had a lot of hills in it and reminded me of Kenosha, Wisconsin. I regard that as one of the great courses in the nation and the world.

Adams State, led by top-10 finishers Joshua Merrick and Jesus Solis, placed four runners in the top 15 but wasn't able to keep its fifth runner close enough behind to challenge its Colorado rival. The Grizzlies fell short in a bid to repeat last year's sweep of the men's and women's titles at the championships, although the Grizzlies easily captured the women's crown again this year.

"We'd like to win two national titles every year, but this is the next best thing," said Adams State coach Damon Martin. "Winning one title and coming in second in the other race is still very good."

Abilene Christian finished third in team competition, paced by Naimadu's victory. The individual crown is the Wildcats' third in six years, following Alfred Rugema's victories in 2000 and 2002.

Naimadu's teammate, senior Bernard Manirakiza, finished 10th, adding to his lengthy list of accomplishments in cross country and track by qualifying again for all-America honors.

Cal State Chico finished fourth, led by Patrick Boivin's ninth-place finish, and Harding placed fifth as Peter Kosgei, the top returning finisher from last year's race, slipped one place individually from third to fourth.

The top 22 individual finishers at this year's championships ran as members of competing teams. Tiffin's Todd Casey was the first finisher who wasn't a member of a team, placing 23rd, more than a minute behind Naimadu and Bodor.

Colorado-Colorado Springs' Moses Tum was the only top-10 finisher who ran for a team other than one of the five top-scoring squads. He finished eighth.

Team results

1. Western St., 39; 2. Adams St., 76; 3. Abilene Christian, 137; 4. Cal St. Chico, 144; 5. Harding, 196; 6. Grand Valley St., 213; 7. Edinboro, 231; 8. Hillsdale, 246; 9. Lock Haven, 256; 10. Kennesaw St., 271; 11. UC-Colo. Spgs., 279; 12. Minn. St. Mankato, 318; 13. Mass.-Lowell, 331; 14. Cal Poly Pomona, 344; 15. Wayne St. (Mich.), 355; 16. Stonehill, 366; 17. Central Mo. St., 375; 18. South Dakota, 383; 19. Seattle Pacific, 512; 20. Fla. Southern, 528; 21. Minn. Duluth, 572; 22. Mo. Southern St., 575; 23. Mars Hill, 591; 24. Lenoir-Rhyne, 705.

Individual results

1. Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Christian, 31:38.1; 2. Oliver Bodor, Western St., 31:38.2; 3. Kelly Christensen, Western St., 31:52.0; 4. Peter Kosgei, Harding, 32:02.3; 5. Joshua Merrick, Adams St., 32:08.9; 6. Will Banks, Western St., 32:08.9; 7. Jesus Solis, Adams St., 32:20.8; 8. Moses Tum, UC-Colo. Spgs., 32:22.1; 9. Patrick Boivin, Cal St. Chico, 32:28.3; 10. Bernard Manirakiza, Abilene Christian, 32:31.9; 11. Mohamed Aden, Adams St., 32:33.2; 12. Timothy Parr, Western St., 32:36.3; 13. Christopher Kapfer, Mass.-Lowell, 32:36.8; 14. Jarod Wall, Central Mo. St., 32:36.8; 15. Reid Ellis, Adams St., 32:39.0; 16. Scott Swearingen, Western St., 32:41.3; 17. Ryan Coon, Edinboro, 32:48.3; 18. Daniel Rojas, Cal Poly Pomona, 32:50.9; 19. Nate Peck, Grand Valley St., 32:53.5; 20. Reed Fisher, Harding, 32:53.5.

21. Ryan Cole, Grand Valley St., 33:01.0; 22. Tony Turgeon, South Dakota, 33:02.3; 23. Todd Casey, Tiffin, 33:03.2; 24. Scott Bauhs, Cal St. Chico, 33.03.9; 25. Sean McKeon, Stonehill, 33:04.3; 26. Landon Taylor, Kennesaw St. 33:04.9; 27. Joel Martinez, Cal St. Chico, 33:08.9; 28. Martin Okello, Abilene Christian, 33:09.2; 29. Jason Waters, Kennesaw St., 33:10.4; 30. Chris Cowan, Lock Haven, 33:12.9.

31. Jim Ansberry, Edinboro, 33:16.3; 32. Michael Nikkila, Hillsdale, 33:17.7; 33. Paul Koehler, Mo. Southern St., 33:18.0; 34. Ryan Agnew, Bentley, 33:18.6; 35. Mark Batres, Cal Poly Pomona, 33:19.8; 36. Joe Wiegner, Lock Haven, 33:19.9; 37. Scott Kallgren, Hillsdale, 33:24.3; 38. Tyler Wetering, South Dakota, 33:24.5; 39. Chris Pabst, Grand Valley St., 33:29.7; 40. Aucencio Martinez, Adams St., 33:30.4.

41. Laurent Ngirakamaro, Abilene Christian, 33:31.4; 42. Steven Springhorn, Cal St. Chico, 33:32.8; 43. Levi Brathall, UC-Colo. Spgs., 33:34.7; 44. Justin Kessler, Wayne St. (Mich.), 33:36.3; 45. Maciej Miereczko, Harding, 33:38.4; 46. Artur Kern, Harding, 33:39.4; 47. Jonathan Murch, Western St., 33:40.5; 48. Nate Iler, Ashland, 33:41.3; 49. Antonio Miramontes, Cal St. Chico, 33:43.6; 50. Jason Rengo, Minn. St. Mankato, 33:44.5.

51. Chris Snell, Concord, 33:45.7; 52. Laurence McDaris, Colorado Mines, 33:47.4; 53. Ryan Blood, Lock Haven, 33:48.6; 54. Robert Berger, Minn. St. Mankato, 33:50.4; 55. Kyle Ivie, Cal St. Chico, 33:51.2; 56. Brian Kostock, Humboldt St., 33:51.9; 57. Michael Padilla, West Fla., 33:53.3; 58. Kyle Fujimoto, Hillsdale, 33:54.3; 59. David Sayers, Hillsdale, 33:55.7; 60. Jeramey Boehm, Edinboro, 33:56.3.

61. Benjamin Klungtvedt, Minn. St. Mankato, 33:56.8; 62. Allen Pryde, Shippensburg, 33:57.1; 63. Ryan Holm, Grand Valley St., 33:59.1; 64. Matt Fecht, Wayne St. (Mich.), 34:00.1; 65. David Metzger, Stonehill, 34:07.3; 66. Jared Lowry, Edinboro, 34:08.5; 67. Nate Beerling, Minn. Duluth, 34:08.9; 68. Lucky Hadebe, Abilene Christian, 34:09.8; 69. Jill Winkler, Wis.-Parkside, 34:10.1; 70. Tyrone Bell, Fla. Southern, 34:12.3.

71. Joseph Mutai, Kennesaw St., 34:14.3; 72. Cody Waite, Western St., 34:14.8; 73. Timothy Le Count, Seattle Pacific, 34:16.0; 74. Lukasz Skrzypiec, Kennesaw St., 34:16.6; 75. Ian Hunt, Mass.-Lowell, 34:19.5; 76. Thomas Braun, UC-Colo. Spgs., 34:22.0; 77. James Tawney, Cal Poly Pomona, 34:22.8; 78. Leif Kennedy, Central Mo. St., 34:22.9; 79. Quinn Dauer, Minn. St. Mankato, 34:23.4; 80. Greg Davis, Lock Haven, 34:24.2.

81. T. J. Smith, Stonehill, 34:25.1; 82. Dave Niemira, Edinboro, 34:25.4; 83. Billy Buckenmeyer, Lock Haven, 34:26.4; 84. Patrick Morasse, Mass.-Lowell, 34:26.9; 85. Aaron Rubalcaba-Lopez, UC-Colo. Spgs., 34:28.2; 86. Lewis Butler, Hillsdale, 34:28.5; 87. Mark Hyrvniak, Edinboro, 34:29.0; 88. Craig Eckstein, Mars Hill, 34:29.9; 89. Chris Mehay, Wayne St. (Mich.), 34:31.5; 90. Grant Fall, Grand Valley St., 34:32.0.

91. Chris Robson, Lock Haven, 34:35.0; 92. Lance Jones, Wayne St. (Mich.), 34:36.1; 93. Steve Plouffe, Mass.-Lowell, 34:39.0; 94. Przemyslaw Bobrowski, Harding, 34:39.6; 95. John Emerson, Fla. Southern, 34:39.8; 96. Scott Richnavsky, Southern Conn. St., 34:40.5; 97. Jay Luna, UC-Colo. Spgs., 34:42.0; 98. Matt Merrigan, Central Mo. St., 34:42.7; 99. Bret Fransen, South Dakota, 34:43.6; 100. Robby Young, Grand Valley St., 34:44.1.

101. Piotr Kaszkur, Kennesaw St., 34:44.2; 102. Larry Marshall, St. Augustine's, 34:45.2; 103. Darius Shade, Livingstone, 34:46.1; 104. Luke Garringer, Neb.-Kearney, 34:46.7; 105. Bradley Regan, Adams St., 34:47.2; 106. Jason Beausoleil, Mass.-Lowell, 34:47.7; 107. Kevin Christensen, Wayne St. (Mich.), 34:48.8; 108. Nicholas Liversedge, Hillsdale, 34:49.4; 109. Marco Arriaga, Adams St., 34:50.8; 110. Joe Mundt, Central Mo. St., 34:51.9.

111. Aaron Wells, Truman St., 34:55.8; 112. Pat Lehmann, Minn. St. Mankato, 34:56.5; 113. Dave Lucas, Wayne St. (Mich.), 34:56.8; 114. Bjorn Bostrom, Seattle Pacific, 34:58.5; 115. Blake Terhune, Grand Valley St., 34:59.9; 116. Khalid Abdi, Stonehill, 35:00.0; 117. Daniel Cerecerez, Cal Poly Pomona, 35:00.4; 118. Brian Polski, Minn. Duluth, 35:01.6; 119. Douglas Gibson, Seattle Pacific, 35:02.8; 120. Sean O'Halloran, Wayne St. (Mich.), 35:05.2.

121. Adam Akers, Central Mo. St., 35:06.8; 122. Joe Reynolds, Edinboro, 35:07.5; 123. James Thompson, Mars Hill, 35:08.9; 124. Julius Kosgei, Harding, 35:10.4; 125. Fran Guardabascio, Stonehill, 35:11.4; 126. Brandon McKinnon, Mass.-Lowell, 35:14.1; 127. Brenden Huber, South Dakota, 35:14.8; 128. Trent Joseph, Angelo St., 35:17.2; 129. Daniel Amick, Mars Hill, 35:17.7; 130. Lief Thomason, Fla. Southern, 35:19.0.

131. Brad Winn, UC-Colo. Spgs., 35:19.6; 132. Adrian Romanos, Southern Ark., 35:19.8; 133. Brian Cronrath, Seattle Pacific, 35:22.3; 134. Patrik Eder, Central Mo. St., 35:22.8; 135. Christopher Layman, Cal St. Chico, 35:24.8; 136. Eric Walker, Fla. Southern, 35:26.2; 137. Lucas Plocher, Mo. Southern St., 35:27.7; 138. Bradley Theobald, Cal Poly Pomona, 35:31.2; 139. Matt Dewald, South Dakota, 35:33.5; 140. Eric Atkinson, Minn. Duluth, 35:36.7.

141. Kennedy Kitur, Kennesaw St., 35:41.2; 142. Paul Mach, Seattle Pacific, 35:42.3; 143. Dan Ristau, Minn. St. Mankato, 35:43.3; 144. Ryan Willis, Catawba, 35:44.0; 145. Pedro Barriga, Cal Poly Pomona, 35:45.0; 146. Joey De Witt, Mass.-Lowell, 35:45.0; 147. Neil Theriault, Central Mo. St., 35:48.7; 148. Alex Schmidtendorff, Hillsdale, 35:49.8; 149. Adam Stewart, Lenoir-Rhyne, 35:51.7; 150. Craig Rhoads, Mo. Southern St., 35:53.9.

151. Jose Zavala, Lenoir-Rhyne, 36:00.6; 152. Shawn Moore, Lock Haven, 36:04.9; 153. Richard Gerry, Stonehill, 36:07.3; 154. Brandon Wheeler, Mo. Southern St., 36:08.1; 155. Jon Stoehr, Mars Hill, 36:08.2; 156. Vincent Morogah, Abilene Christian, 36:08.5; 157. Jon Sharp, Lenoir-Rhyne, 36:09.7; 158. John Kallemeyn, Minn. Duluth, 36:15.1; 159. Perrell Bess, Lenoir-Rhyne, 36:16.0; 160. Edward Strickler, Seattle Pacific, 36:17.4.

161. Neil Olson, Minn. Duluth, 36:18.5; 162. Nate Seier, South Dakota, 36:21.7; 163. Louis Rufo, Fla. Southern, 36:22.6; 164. Joe Ryan, Stonehill, 36:22.7; 165. Michael Murphy, Fla. Southern, 36:26.2; 166. Christopher Miano, Cal Poly Pomona, 36:27.7; 167. Phil Harrison, UC-Colo. Spgs., 36:30.6; 168. Joshua Simons, Mars Hill, 36:36.0; 169. Anthony Reed, Mo. Southern St., 36:53.5; 170. Dustin Miller, Mo. Southern St., 36:54.2.

171. James Rosser, Seattle Pacific, 36:54.2; 172. Ben Cogger, Minn. Duluth, 36:58.1; 173. Dustin Whitlow, Mars Hill, 37:02.0; 174. Andy Haines, Lenoir-Rhyne, 37:05.2; 175. James Murphy, Fla. Southern, 37:31.0; 176. Cole McAllister, Abilene Christian, 37:43.0; 177. Kyle Davis, Mo. Southern St., 37:45.2; 178. Jacob Conley, Harding, 37:48.8; 179. Doug Galbavy, South Dakota, 37:58.7; 180. Yonas Seyum, Minn. St. Mankato, 38:15.3.

181. Elliott Austin, Mars Hill, 38:16.5; 182. Alfonce Chilmo, Kennesaw St., 39:16.4; 183. Douglas Marion, Lenoir-Rhyne, 40:12.8; 184. Josh Stuckey, Lenoir-Rhyne, 41:51.5.