Complete Results

DELHI, N.Y. – Led by a first place finish from Troy Cunningham (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant), the top-ranked Harper College men's cross country won their second consecutive national championship over the weekend.  The Hawks won with relative ease, scoring 58 points to finish safely ahead of second-place Gloucester County College (98 points) and SUNY-Delhi (115 points).
 
“It's really exciting to be able to repeat like that,” said head coach James Macnider.  “The kids had a really good time.  They followed instructions all season and ran the style of race that we wanted.  They listened and it paid off.”
 
Along with Cunningham, Colin Weber (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling) was recognized as a First-Team All-America by virtue of his fourth-place finish.
 
Cunningham is Harper's first ever individual champion and, along with Weber and Zachary Gates (Palatine, Ill., Palatine), is a two-time national champion in cross country to go with a national championship in track and field as well.  He finished the 8K race in 27:53, four seconds ahead of Korey Jeffries from Gloucester County.
 
“Troy was with the lead group the whole race,” Macnider said.  “I told him not to press the pace until he got past the bad stuff.  Right around the 3-mile mark, he took control of the race and wasn't really challenged after that.”
 
After not even racing on last year's national championship team, Weber made sure that he was more than just included.  He crossed the finish line in 28:25 to edge fifth-place finisher Brian Simmons by three seconds.  Weber was about 14^th place after two miles and after the third mile, had moved up to ninth.  By the time runners came in for the final stretch of the race, Weber was in fifth and just had to beat out Simmons.
 
“Weber ran a great race,” Macnider said.  “He's come a long way.  The course just fit him to a key because he's a strength type of guy.  He's a strong kid and kept moving up.”
 
Josh Campos (Mount Prospect, Ill., Prospect) and Nick Modlin (Wheeling, Ill., Wheeling) barely missed All-America honors, which is awarded to the top 15 runners.  Campos came in 18^th place with a time of 29:27 while Modlin completed the race in 29:37 for 19^th place.  The Hawks' fifth runner was Jhoan Lino (León, Guanajuato, Streamwood), who after being in 60^th place halfway through the race, wound up finishing 28^th with a time of 29:54.
 
“The kids ran smart,” Macnider said.  “We knew that the course was primarily hilly in the first half and not so bad in the second half.  We were conservative in the beginning but able to finish strong in the end.  All of the kids moved up the entire race.”
 
Since Macnider has taken over the program in 2011, the Hawks have won two national championships while being ranked either first or second in the national poll in 16 of the past 19 weeks.
 
“We hope that we can keep building on this,” Macnider said.  “It was a fun experience.”