Principia Trio Qualifies For Nationals

This weekend Principia College will host the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championship and the host school will have three runners racing in the field. Last weekend Zach Matthiesen, Nate Richards, and Shane Witters Hicks all qualified for the upcoming championship. 

Competing at the Midwest Regionals Matthiesen and Richards paced the field for the first mile in what would be an outstanding achievement that saw 34 of the top 35 runners run lifetime bests in the race.

Matthiesen was the first Panther to cross the finish line, coming in 11th place with a time of 23:51; besting his previous mark by 14-seconds and setting a new school record. Witters Hicks took 15th place with a time of 24:05, a 16-second personal best, and Richards finished 19th overall with a time of 24:09. In addition to qualifying for nationals, all three runners earned All-Region honors.

This weekend's NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship will be held in Elsah, Illinois with race times set for 11 a.m. for the men and 12:15 p.m. for the women. You can watch the race live on FloTrack.com