Tartans Place 20th at NCAA Cross Country Championships

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) – The Carnegie Mellon University men's cross country team competed in the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships hosted at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, November, 19. The Tartans finished 20th out of 32 teams with 480 points while North Central University won the team championship with 60 points.

In his second appearance at the NCAA Championships, sophomore William Mitchell (Chatham, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) paced the Tartans. He finished 72nd overall in a time of 25:15.1 across the 8k course. This place improves upon his 135th-place showing a year ago.

Junior Ryan Auld (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) was second across the finish line for the Tartans, as he averaged 5:08.5 a mile to place 126th in 25:33.3. Senior Curtis Watro (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) was next to finish for the Tartans when he did 153rd in 25:43.7. Following Watro was sophomore Paul Fleming (Sharon, Mass./Sharon) in 25:48.0 for 164th place.

A pair of sophomores finished close together with Jared Moore (Beaver Dams, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) 169th in 25:50.4 and Aadi Mhatre (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) 174th in 25:51.4. An injured Ryan Archer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy) gritted his way through the race and crossed the line in 26:44.7 for the Tartans.

Missing Saturday was freshman Edward Goebel (Abington, Pa./La Salle College) who was the University Athletic Association (UAA) Rookie of the Year. He missed the race due to a late season injury.