Men’s Cross Country Concludes Season at Nationals

The Oxford College of Emory University men's cross country team wrapped up their season at the 2022 NJCAA DIII National Championship. The race was held at Westfield, MA, on Saturday morning and the Eagles finished in 12th place. 

Leading the way for the Eagles was freshman Timothy Park who finished with a time of 28:59. Fellow freshman Jacob Hillman was right behind him with a time of 29:35. Sophomore Alex Lucas ran a 30:03, while classmate Andrew Johnson ran a 32:51. To round out the top five finishers for Oxford was sophomore Darren Ni (34:20). 

The College of DuPage claimed the top spot, winning their first team title in program history. 

"Cross Country is one of the most challenging sports in NJCAA DIV III," commented Coach Ella O'Kelley."The talent is stacked nationwide and you truly have to earn anything you accomplish. I'm satisfied with what the men's program was able to do this year. Last year was the first time we had a full team to score since we had placed 10th over four years ago. We were 15th then and 10th this year. We are headed in the right direction with rebuilding." 

This concludes a strong 2022 campaign for the Eagles that saw improvements throughout the season. They won the GCAA Regional Title back in October and Park was named Region XVII Runner of the Year. Coach Tony O'Kelley was named the Region XVII Men's Coach of the Year.