COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Butler men's cross country team completed another outstanding season at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Saturday morning.
William Zegarski and Austin Gabay led the way for the No. 14-ranked Bulldogs with top-100 finishes. Zegarski placed 66th, covering the championship course in 29:22.0. Gabay followed in 83rd with a time of 29:30.3.
Jesse Hamlin, Brendan Thomas, Eli Fullerton and Matteo Rosio each finished within the top 200. Matthew Forrester re-aggravated a calf injury; he was able to finish the race, but it affected the Dawgs score.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished 16th with 484 points. No. 1 Oklahoma State won the national championship with 57 points.
"I am proud of this team and what they accomplished this year," head coach Matt Roe said. "We had the ability to be a little further up, but overall they ran tough today."
"In the end, this is one of the best teams in Butler Athletics history, measured in the toughest era of our sport. They have a lot to feel good about."
The men's championship took place at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.
Habtom Samuel of New Mexico won the race, crossing the finish line in 28:33.9. Samuel helped lead New Mexico to a second-place team finish with 82 points. Iowa State finished third with 158 points.
Rocky Hansen of Wake Forest and Solomon Kipchoge of Washington State joined Samuel on the podium.
Butler Men 10k Results
This is the sixth consecutive appearance by the Bulldogs in the national meet. Butler's men have also won four of the past six BIG EAST Championships.
The Dawgs clinched their spot in the national meet on Nov. 14 by finishing second in the Great Lakes Regional Championship meet.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will prepare for the upcoming indoor track and field season.
