2019 NCAA Division II West Regional Championships Results

MONMOUTH, Ore. – A foggy Saturday morning out at Ash Creek Preserve set the stage for drama in the 2019 NCAA DII West Regional Cross Country Championships. Graduate student Hasna Kaarour, the Pacific West Conference Runner of the Year, posted a huge personal record en route to her 12th place individual result while leading Academy of Art to 16th as a team. The men were led to a 10th place finish by graduate student Charlie Messai in the top 30.

Sporting significant 6k personal records, both Kaarour and junior Natalia Novak finished in the upper tier of the 186-runner field. Kaarour beat her previous top time from the PacWest Championships by more than 43 seconds with a 21:06.99 good for 12th overall. She was the top finisher from the conference while Novak had the fifth-highest placement among PacWest runners. Novak took 40th overall, bettering her previous best by more than 15 seconds at 21:50.15.

Rounding out the Urban Knights' top five finishers were redshirt sophomore Audrey Rosencrans, redshirt sophomore Alyssa Winter, and sophomore Jasmine Becker. Rosencrans took 90th overall with a time of 22:31.28, Winter followed in 148th at 23:42.13, and Becker crossed the line in 157th while offering a 23:58.55 mark.
 
As a team, Academy of Art (432) finished 16th of 27 back of PacWest opponents Fresno Pacific (334) in 12th, Biola (368) in 14th, and Concordia (Calif.) (390) in 15th. Chico State (75) came away with the team crown and the race's individual winner was Emmanuelah Chelimo (20:22.4) from Alaska Anchorage.

Out of 185 total runners on the men's side, Messai was 26th, delivering a 30:47.88 mark in his first collegiate 10k with the Urban Knights. Graduate student James Young, the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, claimed 38th individually (31:02.73) also in his first 10k at ART U. The top Academy of Art trio was completed by redshirt senior Rabah Houali in 41st, sporting his fastest 10k time by more than two full minutes at 31:06.18.

More 10k personal records came from the final two of the top five ART U men. Sophomore Hudson Lockette crossed the finish line at 66th overall, cutting over a minute and 40 seconds off his 2018 debut time with a 31:43.25 on Saturday. The biggest 10k improvement came from sophomore Markus Anderson Deakin who bettered his previous mark by over two and a half minutes with a 32:07.25 good for 89th overall.

In the team scores, ART U (260) took 10th with all five of its qualifiers within the top 90. Biola (167) was the only PacWest team to finish ahead of the Urban Knights. Like on the women's side, Chico State (43) earned the team title and Josh Litwiller (29:54.33) of Cal State San Marcos ended up the individual winner.

For individuals who qualify following a forthcoming official announcement from the NCAA DII Cross Country Committee, the NCAA DII National Championship races will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento.