Christian Escareno Competes at NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships

Terre Haute, IND- Junior Christian Escareno (Mount Prospect, IL) finished in 204th place at the 2009 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship hosted at Indiana State University yesterday afternoon. Escareno was just one of four Ivy League men to make it to Nationals as an individual, as he turned in a solid time of 32:01.0.

“Although Christian didn’t have his best race out at Nationals, it was great experience for him to be in the race as a junior so he will know what to expect next year,” said Head Coach Craig Lake. “Your first time at Nationals amongst 245 of the best runners in the nation can be overwhelming especially when you are accustomed to being in the front pack of the race.”

Winning the individual race was Samuel Chelanga of Liberty with a 28:41.3, followed by a second-place finish by Northern Arizona’s David McNeill with 29:06.5 and third place was awarded to Chris Derrick of Stanford with a time of 29:14.8.

Escareno, a First Team All-Ivy selection, ran the best race of his career at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Oct. 30.  His time of 25:19.7 was good for a second place finish overall.  He then ran at the NCAA Northeast Regionals on Nov. 16, finishing in 10th place with a time of 31:19 to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. 

Full results can be found on Indiana State's website.