Full Results
NJCAA Press Release
CANADAIGUA, N.Y. – The Harper College men's cross country team put together an outstanding team effort to capture the national title at the 2014 DIII Men's Cross Country National Championship on Saturday at the Bruce Bridgeman Cross Country Course. The championship is the Hawks' fourth straight national title.
The team placed five runners in the top-10 and scored 28 points in the meet to outpace nearest competitors Mohawk Valley Community College (92 points) and Howard Community College (130 points). Six Harper runners – Juan Barajas (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg), Brennan Albuck (/Hoffman Estates), Zach Stella (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), John Majerus (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove), Emil Kozakiewicz (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) and Adam Brauer (Palatine, lll./Palatine) – earned All-American honors at the meet for finishing in the top-15.
Barajas and Albuck led the charge for the Hawks. Barajas captured the individual title, finishing the 8K course in 27:29.9. Barajas also won the Region IV Championship individual title two weeks prior and became the second Hawk in three years (Troy Cunningham in 2012) to win the individual title at the national meet. Albuck was runner-up to Barajas, clocking a time of 27:32.5 to outpace nearest challenger Gary Smolyak (27:48) of Howard Community College.
Stella finished sixth overall in a time of 28:25.5, and Majerus placed ninth with a time of 28:57. Kozakiewicz rounded out the scoring for Harper with a 10th place finish in 28:57.6.
Brauer nabbed the final All-American spot with a 15th place finish in 29:29.6. The Hawks also got a strong performance from Will Troman (/Streamwood), who took 20th place with a time of 29:37.9.
"We focus everything we do in training to prepare for the national meet, and they nailed it," said head coach Jim Macnider. "It was a perfectly executed race, and every one of them was finishing strong and passing at the end, which was what we hoped for."
