Asher Gibbons
Sports Editor
On Nov. 22, the Kenosha, Wisconsin course proved to be a challenge as the men’s cross country team placed 19th in the nation at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship.
Senior Christian Giller, a name that has consistently appeared in every cross country article, placed 68th with a 10k time of 31:17.3. He was less than two minutes behind race winner Kidus Begashaw, who placed fourth just two months prior on the same course.
Giller was at a disadvantage of experience as he didn’t participate in the pre-nationals race like the rest of the team this season due to sickness.
He went into the race hoping for a top-25 finish for a bid at All-American, but that proved to be too tall of a task.
Prior to the race, Giller explained that the rest of the team relayed the message of how hard a course Kenosha really was. A message that turned out to be all too correct.
“That was easily the worst course I’ve ever run on in the entirety of my running career,” Giller said. “The hills were just monsters. They made Holloway look like a golf course.”
Giller wasn’t the only top-125 performer, as Anthony Matthew, Chris Colavita, Cole Summers and Eli Zuppa all performed in the top 50%.
The team now will travel to Grand Valley, Michigan before winter break to get a headstart on the 2026 track season. The team will then take a ten day break to gear up for the rest of the season starting in January
