New York University's
29th-ranked men's cross country team had a strong showing at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship on Saturday, placing 16th as a team at Big Spring High School in Newville, PA.
It was NYU's first team appearance at nationals since 2017 when the squad finished 28th. The Violets were second among the five University Athletic Association (UAA) programs in the 2023 race as Carnegie Mellon University claimed sixth, WashU was one spot and 16 points behind NYU in 17th, Emory University came in 22nd and the University of Chicago was 31st.
"For us to run 16th and be the second-best school in the UAA, on a great day we're probably 26th, they just ran with a ton of poise for a bunch of guys who had never been here before," said Head Coach
Tyler Deck Shipley. "To do it on a tough, hilly course in a lot of chaos, I'm endlessly, endlessly proud of them. You can't really write a better end to their season."
Junior
Ryan Tobin, making his third straight appearance at nationals after qualifying as an individual the past two years, led the pack of Violets in 45th (33rd among team scorers) with a time of 25:13.2.
NYU's second and third finishers,
Jeffrey Chen and
Andrew Taylor, were separated by just two seconds as they battled to top-70 finishes among team scorers. Chen placed 79th overall (62nd scorer) in 25:34.7 and Taylor was 83rd overall (66th scorer) as he completed the 8k course in 25:36.7.
George Brady crossed the finish line next for the Violets, clocking in at 25:43.6 which was good for 101st overall and 79th among team scorers.
Shaurya Srivastava rounded out NYU's scorers in 244th place (184th scorer) with a time of 26:39.5.
Brandon Meiner (262nd, 26:43.4) and
Jon Diaz (287th, 27:45.6) also raced for the Violets.
"We kind of took some lumps, but for them to stay steadfast in their belief in each other and their belief in what we're building here, and bringing it on the biggest stage for the very first time, unbelievable," Deck Shipley added.
There were 294 individuals and 32 teams competing in the Championship. The Violets finished with 424 points, 17 behind 15th-place Central College. Pomona-Pitzer took home the team title with 158 points while Wisconsin-La Crosse's Ethan Gregg was the individual champion with a time of 24:02.4.
NYU's distance runners now turn their attention to the indoor track and field season, which begins on December 1 at the Fast Track Season Opener in Staten Island, NY.
