None of its runners finished better than 20th individually, but Calvin's five scorers -- including two seniors who shook off injury and illness -- crossed the finish line within 20 seconds of each other to claim the Knights' second straight Division III Men's Cross Country Championships team title.

The Knights held off a challenge from North Central (Illinois), which placed two runners ahead of Jeff Engbers, Calvin's top finisher, during the November 20 championships at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

But Calvin placed four runners between North Central's second and third scorers -- including senior Dave Haagsma, who suffered a spike wound that required six stitches during regional competition a week earlier -- and senior Andy Yazzie overcame bacterial pneumonia to finish just 10 seconds behind the Knights' pack and clinch the 30-point victory.

"Our guys ran with tremendous heart, particularly Dave Haagsma and Andy Yazzie," said Calvin coach Brian Diemer. "We knew that Andy was not 100 percent and we also knew that he would play a key role if we were going to win today. Andy held on with everything he had. It was truly one of the most courageous efforts we have had in Calvin men's cross country history."

"There was no way I was going to let my teammates down," Yazzie said. "I saw my teammates up ahead of me and I just dug down and gave it everything I had. I'm thankful it was good enough for the win."

The title is Calvin's third in five years, but it looked notably different from last year's victory, when the Knights qualified a record six team members for all-American honors with top-35 finishes and won with 48 points. Three of those six returned to claim honors again this year, but Haagsma and senior Hendrik Kok, who were top-10 finishers last year, placed 30th and 39th, respectively, this time out, while the other returnee, Tim Finnegan, dropped from 16th to 28th.

"Our guys could have run as a bunch of individuals and sought their own glory," said Al Hoekstra, who shares coaching duties with Diemer. "But if we had done that, there is no way we would have won the national championship. Some of our guys would have fallen out the back door if they had run like that, but by focusing on each other, it gave them the encouragement to keep pressing on."

"They stayed together in a pack and that made all the difference in the world," Diemer added.

North Central's runner-up finish was its best since its three-year streak of team titles ended in 1999. Pat Rizzo's 10th-place finish overall led the way for the Cardinals. Wisconsin-La Crosse finished third, followed by Haverford and Willamette.

Individual competition also featured a repeat winner, as Wartburg's Josh Moen became only the third man to win two straight Division III titles. He joins Dale Kramer of Carleton and David Terronez of Augustana (Illinois) as two-time titlists.

The senior also joined teammate Missy Buttry in sweeping the individual championships for Wartburg for the second straight year. Wartburg is the only school in the history of the Division III championships whose runners have swept the men's and women's titles in the same year.

Moen's time of 24:28.7 was six seconds better on a cool, windy day than his finish in the 8-kilometer distance at last year's championships. He finished 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Neal Holtschulte of Williams, who improved on his own sixth-place finish in last year's race.

Team results

1. Calvin, 107; 2. North Central (Ill.), 137; 3. Wis.-La Crosse, 148; 4. Haverford, 196; 5. Willamette, 209; 6. Tufts, 223; 7. St. Olaf, 267; 8. Carleton, 285; 9. Williams, 290; 10. Geneseo St., 292; 11. (tie) Wis.-Stevens Point and Neb. Wesleyan, 309; 13. DePauw, 313; 14. Wartburg, 331; 15. Elizabethtown, 341; 16. Chicago, 367; 17. Wis.-Platteville, 374; 18. TCNJ, 414; 19. Bates, 416; 20. Keene St., 427; 21. Emory, 490; 22. Pomona-Pitzer, 496; 23. New York U., 518; 24. Centre, 667.

Individual results

1. Josh Moen, Wartburg, 24:28.7; 2. Neal Holtschulte, Williams, 24:41.8; 3. Mike Sawicki, Otterbein, 24:43.4; 4. Ted Turner, Geneseo St., 24:44.6; 5. Crosby Freeman, Pomona-Pitzer, 24:48.8; 6. Mark Lalonde, Wis.-Stevens Point, 24:49.3; 7. Aaron Johnston-Peck, Case Reserve, 24:49.5; 8. Ben Schmeckpeper, MIT, 24:49.7; 9. Gary Garcia, Wis.-Whitewater, 24:54.1; 10. Pat Rizzo, North Central (Ill.), 24:56.0; 11. Mike Vidumsky, DeSales, 24:58.8; 12. Dan Bucy, Carleton, 25:01.4; 13. Kelly Fulton, St. Olaf, 25:02.5; 14. Tyler Sigl, Wis.-Platteville, 25:04.9; 15. Malcolm Richards, St. Olaf, 25:07.7; 16. David Johnson, North Central (Ill.), 25:09.6; 17. Kevin Pool, Allegheny, 25:10.1; 18. Weston Fuhrman, Wesleyan (Conn.), 25:10.5; 19. Mark Heintz, Elmhurst, 25:10.7; 20. Jeff Engbers, Calvin, 25:11.6.

21. Aaron Hollingshead, Willamette, 25:12.3; 22. Dana Irrer, Carnegie Mellon, 25:12.5; 23. Jeffrey Beck, Geneseo St., 25:12.9; 24. Macharia Yuot, Widener, 25:12.9; 25. David Bridgewater, Keene St., 25:13.3; 26. Zach Barr, Monmouth (Ill.), 25:13.5; 27. Steve Sanko, Elizabethtown, 25:13.6; 28. Tim Finnegan, Calvin, 25:13.8; 29. Stan Pyle, Wheaton (Mass.), 25:15.2; 30. Dave Haagsma, Calvin, 25:15.3.

31. Jose Miranda, Elizabethtown, 25:16.0; 32. Josh Kennedy, Tufts, 25:16.3; 33. Graham Wellman, DePauw, 25:16.5; 34. Frank Prince, Puget Sound, 25:16.5; 35. Andy Grupa, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:16.8; 36. William McGuire, Haverford, 25:17.3; 37. Mark Creger, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:19.9; 38. Chris Dunker, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:20.4; 39. Hendrik Kok, Calvin, 25:21.8; 40. Grant Scott, Haverford, 25:23.3.

41. Mike Herlihy, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:23.4; 42. Kiran Moorty, Colorado Col., 25:25.2; 43. Ian Ramsey-North, Haverford, 25:25.3; 44. Aaron Dye, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:25.6; 45. Nick End, Carnegie Mellon, 25:25.8; 46. Daniel Crespin, Brandeis, 25:26.0; 47. Steve Harris, Carleton, 25:27.9; 48. Dan Johnson, Bates, 25:28.5; 49. Chris Bosworth, North Central (Ill.), 25:29.3; 50. Mike Cauley, Otterbein, 25:29.7.

51. Andy Yazzie, Calvin, 25:31.0; 52. Jerome Tharaud, Chicago, 25:31.4; 53. Mike Flint, Coast Guard, 25:32.0; 54. Douglas Blackburn, Whitworth, 25:34.3; 55. Greg Reindl, Washington (Mo.), 25:34.7; 56. Matt Liebal, Dickinson, 25:35.2; 57. Phil Skiba, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:35.3; 58. Andrew Bednarek, Wis.-Stevens Point, 25:35.7; 59. Paul Hugus, McDaniel, 25:36.0; 60. Jake Sheldon, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:36.9.

61. Keith Solverson, Wartburg, 25:37.4; 62. Nick Hird, North Central (Ill.), 25:37.6; 63. Sam VanVolkenburgh, Williams, 25:38.0; 64. Travis Harris, Willamette, 25:39.0; 65. Jon French, St. Lawrence, 25:39.7; 66. Matthew Fortin, Tufts, 25:39.9; 67. Jeffrey Metzdorff, Hamline, 25:40.4; 68. Matthew Lacey, Tufts, 25:40.4; 69. Craig Dye, Neb. Wesleyan, 25:41.5; 70. Christopher Parks, Merchant Marine, 25:42.1.

71. Brian Donovan, TCNJ, 25:42.3; 72. Tim Smit, St. John's (Minn.), 25:42.6; 73. Andy Enright, North Central (Ill.), 25:43.3; 74. Ian Batch, Willamette, 25:43.9; 75. Jason Flogel, Loras, 25:44.1; 76. Stephen Wills, Williams, 25:44.6; 77. Tony Hoff, St. Olaf, 25:44.6; 78. Matthew Behrensmeyer, DePauw, 25:44.8; 79. Cyril Pinchak, John Carroll, 25:47.0; 80. Carlos Ruiz, Willamette, 25:47.0.

81. Matt Deshane, Plattsburgh St., 25:47.6; 82. Scott Mueller, Wis.-La Crosse, 25:48.1; 83. Nathan Johnson, Wash. & Lee, 25:48.6; 84. Nick Symmonds, Willamette, 25:49.1; 85. Kyle Weller, Anderson (Ind.), 25:49.9; 86. Robert Cannon, Haverford, 25:50.2; 87. Joe Francisco, Widener, 25:50.4; 88. Patrick Ard, Keene St., 25:50.5; 89. Brian McNamara, Tufts, 25:51.6; 90. Bill Reynolds, Calvin, 25:51.8.

91. Nathan Brigham, Tufts, 25:53.7; 92. Mike Ormond, Wis.-Stevens Point, 25:54.9; 93. Jared Mann, DePauw, 25:54.9; 94. Zachary Vaslow, Haverford, 25:55.2; 95. Andrew Combs, Bowdoin, 25:56.8; 96. Andrew Podgurski, Emory, 25:57.7; 97. Dan Hayman, Claremont-M-S, 25:58.5; 98. Brian Baillie, Haverford, 25:58.8; 99. Greg Wetzel, Elizabethtown, 25:59.1; 100. Adam Williamson, Carleton, 25:59.9.

101. Joel Anderson, Bates, 26:00.4; 102. Vinnie Zarrillo, New York U., 26:01.8; 103. Nick Myran, Concordia-M'head, 26:02.0; 104. Garrott Kuzzy, Middlebury, 26:02.6; 105. Dan Rodriguez, North Central (Ill.), 26:03.9; 106. Donald Letts, Haverford, 26:04.1; 107. Ben Hammer, Calvin, 26:04.4; 108. James Davenport, Brockport St., 26:04.6; 109. Owen Farcey, Emory, 26:04.8; 110. Chad Bennett, DePauw, 26:05.5.

111. Teage O'Connor, Chicago, 26:05.6; 112. Marc Ellingson, St. Olaf, 26:06.7; 113. Justin Riley, Grinnell, 26:06.8; 114. Brian Hague, Chicago, 26:07.2; 115. Steve Monsulick, Bates, 26:07.7; 116. Pat Hogan, Chicago, 26:09.2; 117. Adam Bucholz, Wis.-Stevens Point, 26:09.9; 118. Joe Lacovara-Switzer, TCNJ, 26:10.7; 119. Chris Ellis-Ferrara, Williams, 26:11.8; 120. Chris Lundberg, Carleton, 26:12.4.

121. William Leer, Pomona-Pitzer, 26:13.0; 122. Matthew Manning, Mississippi Col., 26:13.5; 123. Russ Goessl, Wis.-Platteville, 26:14.6; 124. Andy Hubner, North Central (Ill.), 26:14.9; 125. Ryan Gough, Keene St., 26:15.4; 126. Eugene Peterson, Geneseo St., 26:16.0; 127. Ben Carlson, Wartburg, 26:17.9; 128. Bob Dillis, Wis.-Platteville, 26:19.6; 129. John LeRoy, Wis.-Oshkosh, 26:20.9; 130. Stephen Cohen, Anderson (Ind.), 26:21.0.

131. Kyle Stangel, Wis.-Platteville, 26:21.8; 132. Mike McGrath, Geneseo St., 26:24.5; 133. Nathan O'Brien, Willamette, 26:25.3; 134. Matt Molski, TCNJ, 26:26.8; 135. Kyle Alpaugh, TCNJ, 26:27.7; 136. Chris Kantos, Tufts, 26:27.9; 137. Kile Krol, Emory, 26:28.0; 138. Jim Tillapaugh, Geneseo St., 26:28.5; 139. Patrick Johnson, Wartburg, 26:29.3; 140. John Nowinski, Carleton, 26:29.7.

141. Robert Pierpont, New York U., 26:30.2; 142. Dave dos Santos, TCNJ, 26:30.7; 143. Nick Fulton, Wis.-Platteville, 26:30.8; 144. Mike Clinch, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:32.1; 145. Emil Bojanov, Chicago, 26:33.6; 146. Kevin Balster, Wartburg, 26:34.0; 147. Guy Mclaughlin, Neb. Wesleyan, 26:34.2; 148. Dusty Kime, DePauw, 26:34.5; 149. Mike Downing, Bates, 26:34.7; 150. Rob Barger, TCNJ, 26:36.6.

151. Golden Krishna, Pomona-Pitzer, 26:37.2; 152. John Herlin, Trinity (Tex.), 26:38.2; 153. Ryan Williams, New York U., 26:38.2; 154. Brendan Brown, Willamette, 26:38.9; 155. Peter Bromka, Tufts, 26:39.2; 156. Brian Kopnicki, TCNJ, 26:39.4; 157. Nate Blank, Centre, 26:40.5; 158. Jon High, Emory, 26:41.3; 159. Corey Levin, Williams, 26:41.4; 160. Hany Abdallah, New York U., 26:41.9.

161. Ryan Mulcahy, Elizabethtown, 26:42.8; 162. Dan Moore, Geneseo St., 26:43.7; 163. Travis Keany, New York U., 26:44.7; 164. Jason Theobald, Elizabethtown, 26:45.0; 165. Joseph Hegarty, Keene St., 26:45.3; 166. Jason Havey, St. Olaf, 26:45.5; 167. Danny Corken, Wartburg, 26:45.7; 168. William Kraska, New York U., 26:46.2; 169. Mark Noll, Centre, 26:47.2; 170. Josh Kujawa, Wis.-Stevens Point, 26:47.4.

171. Denton Helms, Wis.-Stevens Point, 26:48.0; 172. Dave Billings, Ripon, 26:48.6; 173. Nate Hoffman, Wis.-La Crosse, 26:49.2; 174. Keith Marshall, DePauw, 26:51.0; 175. Matt Biggart, Bates, 26:52.2; 176. Dan Winder, Loras, 26:53.8; 177. Jake Rhyner, Wis.-Stevens Point (disqualified); 178. Patrick Donovan, Elizabethtown, 26:57.3; 179. Brian Scott, Wis.-Platteville, 26:57.4; 180. Cody Solverson, Wartburg, 26:59.5.

181. Chris Williams, Elizabethtown, 26:59.7; 182. Robert Nachtsheim, Carleton, 26:59.9; 183. Ben Stallsworth, DePauw, 27:00.4; 184. David Swanson, St. Olaf, 27:02.4; 185. Lucas Ridley, Sewanee, 27:04.2; 186. Eric Hack, Centre, 27:06.9; 187. Anthony Lippert, Centre, 27:09.0; 188. Brian Buechel, New York U., 27:10.9; 189. Bryan Forsyth, Emory, 27:12.1; 190. John Thompson, Centre, 27:12.9.

191. Ryan Sweeney, Neb. Wesleyan, 27:12.9; 192. James Mestichelli, Chicago, 27:13.8; 193. Derrick Hamel, Keene St., 27:16.1; 194. Andy Cloke, Cortland St., 27:18.7; 195. Bill Ference, Williams, 27:18.8; 196. Nate Defelice, Pomona-Pitzer, 27:19.1; 197. Rich Cannon, Pomona Pitzer, 27:19.1; 198. John Leuck, Wis.-Platteville, 27:19.4; 199. Sam Jacobson, Chicago, 27:19.6; 200. Harrison Little, Bates, 27:20.5.

201. Morgan Seybert, Williams, 27:23.2; 202. Rob Leventhal, Emory, 27:28.1; 203. Brad Johnson, Geneseo St., 27:28.5; 204. Eamon Monaghan, Carleton, 27:29.9; 205. Sean McCarron, Pomona-Pitzer, 27:44.2; 206. Matt Dunlap, Bates, 27:48.6; 207. Michael Haworth, Centre, 27:54.8; 208. Nabeel Ahmed, Emory, 27:59.4; 209. Jose Guzman, Trinity (Conn.), 28:05.9; 210. Jeff Briggs, Centre, 28:07.8.

211. Sam Hauck, St. Olaf, 28:20.6; 212. Matthew Haley, Keene St., 28:43.7; 213. Mark Garcia, Keene St., 28:50.9; 214. Ethan Evert, Neb. Wesleyan, 29:00.2; 215. Mike Bergeron, Pomona-Pitzer, 29:27.2.