Trinity's McCullough Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Championships

Trinity's McCullough Earns All-America Honors at NCAA Championships

(Story Courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department) 

WINNECONE, Wis. - Senior Molly McCullough earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday, while Elliot Blake placed 102nd in the men's event.

HIGHLIGHTS

McCullough became Trinity's first back-to-back cross country All-American in school history, with a #21 finish on the 6k course in 21:43.8, the fourth fastest Trinity NCAA Championship time. Her 21st-place performance - out of 279 runners - is the third best in school history.

Last year, McCullough became the first Tiger cross country All-American since 2009 - and the third overall - with a 38th-place finish, at 21:37.10. McCullough placed 65th at the 2016 meet, which was the best in Tiger history for a sophomore at the time. She is the only Trinity cross country runner to earn multiple All-America honors.

Despite being involved in a group of runners that fell at the start and forced a restart of the race, Blake still crossed the finish line of the 8k race in 102nd place out of nearly 280 runners, clocking in at 25:37.3. His finish is the third-best in Trinity history and he is the first Tiger men's runner to compete at nationals since 2015.

McCullough earned a slot in the NCAA Championship with a second-place finish last week at the DIII South/Southeast Region Championship at Mount Berry, Georgia. Blake was a ninth-place finisher at the Regional meet.

The two Tigers were named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Runners of the Year after capturing individual tiles at the SCAC meet last month in Kerrville, Texas. Trinity's men's and women's teams also won the SCAC Championships for the second year in a row.

Fifth-year Head Coach Emily Daum was elected the SCAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the second consecutive time. A 2009 Trinity graduate, Coach Daum became the first Tiger cross country All-American, receiving the accolade in the 2008 season.