VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia – Both the men’s and women’s UMA cross country team traveled to the USCAA National Championship this year; for the men, it was the first time in program history.
Both teams were able to take part in the Fall Championship banquet at the Virginia Beach Convention Center prior to the National Championship race. The night included a formal celebration of hundreds of student-athletes from soccer, volleyball, and cross country teams. The evening began with dinner and was followed by announcement of the USCAA National Academic All-Americans teams for the fall. Carmen Bragg, Caitlin LaFountain, and Walker Thomas were all named USCAA National Academic All-Americans for the fall of 2017. This awarded is given to students that maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
The following morning the runners made their way to the Virginia Beach Sports Complex where the National Championship race would take place on a sunny and cool fall morning.
The women’s 6K race kicked off at 9:30 with a clean start. The Moose were led by senior Carmen Bragg in 28:34 followed by freshman Emily Billings in 29:42, a new personal best for Billings in the 6K distance. Shauna Riordan, Caitlin LaFountain, and Sophie Del Valle rounded out the Moose scoring team.
On the men’s side sophomore Samuel Gerken lead the way running 31:49 followed by junior Dustin Simpson-Bragg 33:05. Freshman Caleb Fortin ran to an 8K PR of 34:02 followed by Shev Williams-Hardy and Walker Thomas. Sophomore Adam Bohlen rounded out the men’s team with a massive finishing kick that moved him up several places in the standings.
When asked about his experience coaching the Moose this season coach Gilpatrick said, “This has been an amazing group of student-athletes to work with. They have dedicated themselves throughout the season and in doing so each of them has improved substantially as runners. We have accomplished a lot of firsts as a team for cross country here at the University of Maine at Augusta and have already started working towards building an even stronger team for next year.”