2021 NCAA Division II West Regionals Results

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Wind, rain, and challenging conditions did not stop Pacific West Conference Champion Academy of Art women cross country from delivering an impressive performance in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships at Ash Creek Preserve on Saturday morning. Led by a huge personal record and third place result from PacWest Runner of the Year senior Natalia Novak, the Knights finished fourth out of 24 teams (their best collective result in program history). On the men's side, junior Saba Khvichava claimed All-Region Team honors with his 14th place finish to lead ART U's 16th collective result.

"The women's focus all season has been performing well at Regionals and Nationals," said PacWest Coach of the Year Bruce Jackson. "They did that today and took another step forward along the journey."

Familiar with the 6k course after running it in 2019, Novak remained inside the top 15 for the entirety of the race. Chasing the front pack at the 2.4k checkpoint, the Communications & Media Technologies major jumped nine of her competitors some 1.5k later then honed in on the leaders down the stretch. She was soon fourth at 4.4k and climbed up to third by more than four seconds with a new personal best of 21:27.1. The individual placement was the highest in program history. The time was the third-fastest 6k in ART U history and the top 10 finish, her seventh, brought her into a tie second in program history with teammate graduate student Hasna Kaarour.

Kaarour kept pace with Novak through the first 2.4k and, from 20th place at the 3.9k mark, made major moves over the final portion of the race. She had passed three others approaching the final 1.6k then secured 14th overall after eclipsing another trio to the finish line for a 21:56.0 mark. Similarly to the PacWest Championship where she joined Novak and Kaarour as an All-PacWest First Team honoree, sophomore Delanie Dykes pushed herself inside the top 17 halfway through then closed with the eighth-fastest 6k time by an Academy of Art runner at 22:00.7 in 18th overall. Novak, Kaarour, and Dykes all earned All-Region Team honors for their individual placements among the top 25.

Redshirt junior Audrey Rosencrans nearly joined her teammates following the first split and remained among the top 30 for nearly the entire 6k. Down the final stretch, she jumped up three spots to take 28th overall with her second-fastest time of the year at 22:18.9. Though not quite as big a rise as she had in the PacWest Championship, freshman Lina Hanich once again closed strong by passing five competitors for a 23:29.7 mark in 92nd place across the finish line.

As a team, Academy of Art claimed fourth with 134 points, besting fifth place Biola's 175 points for the top result out of the conference and the best finish by a PacWest team at Regionals since 2017. The top three squads to finish were Simon Fraser (75), Stanislaus State (91), and Chico State (110) with the Warriors' Kaela Dishion (21:14.4) taking the individual title.

Running a 10k for the first time not only this season but in his collegiate career, Khvichava could be found battling among the top 10 through the race's first 2.4k. He dropped back a bit thereafter but offered an impressive kick to the end where he finished at 31:21.2 in 14th place overall. The top 25 performance garnered All-Region Team honors.

The biggest jumps up of the day came from junior Markus Anderson Deakin who, in his third collegiate 10k race, went up 10 spots over the midpoint then another 11 places in the final 1.6k for 66th overall at 32:34.9. Junior Hudson Lockette fought through to overtake two others and nearly more at the end as his 108th place 33:55.4 was 0.1 off the finisher ahead. Rounding out the ART U qualifiers were graduate students Abdelouakil Mustapha (34:56.4) and Owen Day (35:19.5) who ended one place from each other at 127th and 128th respectively.

"Our men had to deal with the worst conditions of the meet, but battled," Jackson said. "Saba highlighted their efforts with his best performance of the season."

Out of 21 teams in the competition, Academy of Art placed 16th overall with 423 points. The top finishers came from Chico State (47) followed by PacWest Champion Fresno Pacific (109) and Cal Poly Pomona (138) barely over Azusa Pacific (139). PacWest Champion Patrick Kiprop captured the individual victory, finishing the 10k at 30:12.6.

For those who qualify following Monday's 2 p.m. at-large selection announcement, NCAA Division II Nationals will be held on Nov. 20 at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Fla.