NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships
Nov. 19, 2005
Western State, Adams State Win Titles
CHINO, Calif. -– Western State College's men and Adams State's women were the team winners Saturday in the NCAA Division II Cross Country championships Saturday at Prado Park.
On a sunny and warm day, Nicodemus Naimadu of Abilene Christian was an impressive repeat national champion in the men's race, while Mandi Zemba of Grand Valley State captured the women's title. For host Cal Poly Pomona, Mark Batres (Sr., Rowland Heights, Don Bosco Tech HS) earned All-America honors for a second straight year by finishing in 10th place. His finish is the best for a Cal Poly Pomona runner since Jose Rangel took ninth in 1997. The Bronco men finished 14th for the second straight season.
Naimadu, meanwhile, overpowered the talented men's field and won with a time of 30:13.8 over a 10,000-meter course at Prado Park. He won the race by nearly a minute and set a new course record by more than three seconds. Kelly Christensen of Western State was second in 31:10.4 and Jeff Weiss of Slippery Rock was third in 31:18.2.
Western State had all five of its scoring runners place in the top 20 and easily won the men's race with 51 points. Adams State was second with 108 points and Chico State of the California Collegiate Athletic Association was third with 127 points. Grand Valley State was fourth with 131 points.
The national title was the seventh overall for Western State, which leads all Division II programs. It is the second straight and sixth in the past seven years for the champions.
In the women's race, Zemba won by 11 seconds while finishing the 6,000-meter course in 21:01.7. Esther Komen of Western State was second in 21:12.9 and Victoria Martinez of Adams State was third in 21:13.6.
Adams State won the team title with 54 points, while Grand Valley State was second with 69 points. Western State finished third with 154 points and Chico State was fourth with 162 points.
It's the third straight team title for Adams State and their 11th overall, which is now the most in Division II history. Adams State entered this season tied with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is now a Division I program, for the most overall.
A total of 186 women and 182 men competed in Saturday's championships.