ASHLAND, Ohio -- Coming east for the NCAA Division II cross country championships can be risky business. In mid-November, the weather in northeastern Ohio can be as finicky as Morris the Cat.
Friday, wind, snow and rain came to Ashland, OH, the site of the 2002 NCAA Division II men's and women's cross country championships. On Saturday (Nov. 23), Mother Nature held off on the snow, but the cold and wind and a soggy track were all present.
Coming east didn't cause any loss of direction for the cross country teams from Western State. Unlike the exhortation to, "Go West, young man," Western State went East and found gold. The Western men won their fourth consecutive national crown and the Western State women won the Division II national championship for the third consecutive season.
The Western men finished with 35 points. Abilene Christian had 81 points to finish as the runnerup for the third consecutive season and Adams State claimed third place with 131 points. Fourth place went to South Dakota State with 143 points.
"We hope to peak at the right time of the year and be healthy at the right time of the year," said Western State head coach Duane Vandenbusche. "We feel very fortunate, very honored, to win."
The Western women won the national crown with 43 points. Adams State had 46 points to earn runnerup honors for the second straight year. Grand Valley State was third with 97 points and Northern Michigan was fourth with 129 points. Western State and Adams State are two Colorado schools separated by 110 miles. Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan are from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
"They (Adams State) had beaten us four times this year, twice when it really counted – the conference meet and the regional meet," reported Vandenbusche. "We had to run well and be a little lucky. I think we had a little luck today."
Vandenbusche even considered the weather a sign that fate might be on his side.
"I told our team last night, the team that handled the elements the best would win," said the Western State coach, who said it's not out of the ordinary for his team to train in cold, snowy conditions.
In the men's race, which covered 10,000 meters, fans saw a high-pitched fight for first place between Abilene Christian's Alfred Rugema, the 2000 individual champ and Nick Cordes of host Ashland. The two seniors waged a gallant battle over the final two miles. Rugema had a short lead when Cordes went past him at four and a half miles. Then Rugema rallied and the two ran shoulder to shoulder over the Brookside Golf Course terrain. Finally, down the stretch, it was Rugema who prevailed. His winning time was 30:43.7. Cordes came home in 30:46.5 and Zeph Joseph of North Florida was third in 30:51.0.
"It was cold," admitted Rugema. "This was the first time for me to run in these kind of conditions. It was hard, the first mile my feet were frozen. It took me maybe, three or four miles (to get warm). When he (Cordes) passed me, I thought it was the guy from Western. When he passed me I said, 'Whoa, this is a different guy.' He ran an awesome race. With two miles to go, I started to go."
"Rugema is a fast champion, a great runner and everyone saw that today," said Cordes. "The last mile and a half I pushed hard. I thought he was trying to get rid of me right away. I think it was more a case of me coming on rather than him easing up."
Cordes will run track and field in the spring, but this was Rugema's final race as a collegiate runner. That, and running in less than ideal conditions, gave him extra sources of motivation.
"It means a lot to me to win it in these kind of conditions," said Rugema. "To win it in these kind of conditions, it was a sweet win because of the adverse conditions. Additionally, this is my last NCAA race."
Cordes was pushed on by a vocal home crowd.
"Everyone saw that I gave my best shot," said the AU senior. "The home crowd here was awesome. The way everyone came out and got the course ready, it was awesome."
Western State secured first place by putting four finishers in the race's Top 10. That list numbered William Banks (fourth, 31:04.1), Rubin McRae (sixth, 31:14.7), Josh Eberly (eighth, 31:30.5) and Chris Siemers (10th, 31:33.3).
The women's race, which covered 6,000 meters, didn't have the individual drama featured in the men's race. Senior Amber Klein of Adams State was the individual championship in 20:54.5 and her teammate, senior Zoila Gomez was the runnerup in 21:09.2.
"I felt good, very strong," said Klein. "When we got through the first 1000 meters we were rolling, just like in practice. We've run harder in practice than this race. Sometimes before a race I'm nervous, but today it was a quick start and I didn't have time to be nervous. I didn't have time to think."
Gomez said she wasn't trying to push Klein toward the finish line. Instead, she was thinking of teammate Tonya Bosen, who missed the race with a foot injury.
"I was thinking of my team, my teammates," said Gomez. "You can't think about anything else. That's what cross country is all about. We're all sisters."
Adams State had three finishers in the Top 10 and Western State had four make the Top 10. In addition to Klein and Gomez, senior Kim Lorimer was ninth (22:07.0). For Western State, junior Rebekah Mackie was third (21:28.6), sophomore Alisha Williams was fourth (21:37.9), senior Hannah Lawrence was fifth (21:40.1) and senior Lisa Blomme was eighth (22:03.5).
Ashland University junior Tara Griffin was 28th (22:48.0). She was the lone AU woman running in the race.
Men's Team Results
Top Three Finishers
1. Western State College
2. Abilene Christian University
3. Adams State College
Men's Individual Results
Top Three Finishers
1. Alfred Rugema, Abilene Christian
2. Nick Cordes, Ashland
3. Zepherinus Joseph, North Florida
Women's Team Results
Top Three Finishers
1. Western State College
2. Adams State College
3. Grand Valley State University
Women's Individual Results
Top Three Finishers
1. Amber Klein, Adams State
2. Zoila Gomez, Adams State
3. Rebekah Mackie, Western State