Shippensburg University’s men’s cross-country team travelled to Sacramento, California, this past weekend and placed 20th at the 2024 NCAA Division II Championship after being unranked for the entire season.

After three days of rain before the competition, the Arcade Creek Cross Country Course at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex was “a path of puddles and patches of mud,” said junior Garrett Quinan, who finished 51st in the individual rankings. On Saturday, the day started with cloudy, 60-degree weather, but it started raining again during the race, and the rain poured when the race finished.

Quinan added that the conditions were not a disadvantage for the Raiders, as everybody raced the same course on the same day. He said, “I think the race embodied the essence of a true gritty cross-country race and it was a great experience to be a part of.”

SU’s team scored 533 points at the national meet to place 20th. After finishing second at the 2024 Atlantic Region Championships behind Davis & Elkins, the Raiders managed to stay ahead of both other Atlantic Region teams at the national race. Davis & Elkins finished 27th with 686 points, and Charleston finished in 29th place with 702 points. 

Quinan was once again the leader of the Raiders pack. He finished the 10K in 51st place, an improvement of 15 spots from 2023. 

Going into the race, Quinan´s goal was to earn All-American classifications, so finishing in the Top 40, which he missed by 11 places. On missing out on that goal, he said that it can be humbling to fall short, but it also can be an opportunity to learn and adjust.

Speaking on his result, Quinan said, “I believe I gave my all that day, and there is no reason to feel disappointed in that.”

Virginia Union's Franklin Kipchirchir in 46th place was the best runner from the Atlantic Region, not much ahead of Quinan.

Improving almost 100 places from last year’s nationals, senior Aiden Gonder served as the Raiders’ No. 2 runner with his 113th-place finish.

Redshirt freshman Tommy Crum Jr. placed 133rd, just two spots behind the 2024 Atlantic Region individual champion Jan Thewes from Davis & Elkins. In Crum’s national debut, he impressed with consistent splits throughout the race.

Junior Ryan Wolfe improved more than 100 places from last year’s national debut on Saturday, finishing 146th. He started the race out strong and was in 74th place at the second split, until people passed him in the middle parts of the race.

Rounding out the Raiders’ scorers was graduate Ian Sherlock in 171st place. Sherlock passed 16 runners on his last 2.2K of the race to improve 80 places from his nationals debut last year.

Sophomore Brennan Wellock and freshman Ramon Urena both made their nationals debut, finishing 203rd and 214th, respectively.

SU competed at the national level for the second year in a row after a five-year absence. After finishing 31st out of 34 teams last season, the Raiders were hungry to improve on the team finish this season. Despite falling short of their ambitious goal to place in the Top 15 as a team, they were still satisfied with their 20th-place finish.

“As a team, we are very happy and thankful for the season and this last race,” Quinan said. “Coming into the NCAA meet, we knew it would not be easy to reach those goals, but we wanted to challenge ourselves with a bold approach. We knew it would take a hard effort from everyone, and I think we all raced our best race on that day.”

Reflecting on the entire season, Quinan said the team has accomplished many things and could not be prouder of their achievements. 

As five of the seven national runners will be returning next season, the team is already looking forward to the next cross-country season in the fall of 2025.

Until then, the men will compete in the indoor and outdoor track-and-field season, which starts in December.

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