LIVE OAK CITY, Texas – Paced by senior Josh Fry's second consecutive individual title, Colorado College runners finished in seven of the top eight spots as the Tiger men defended their cross country conference crown and posted the fourth-lowest score in the history of the event Saturday morning at Live Oak City Park just outside of San Antonio. Results | Official Website | Facebook Photo Album | Interview with Colorado College Head Coach Alex Nichols | Interview with SCAC Runner of the Year Josh Fry
Notching his fourth consecutive All-SCAC finish, Frye crossed the line in 25:03.80 - the third-fastest time in SCAC Championships history - to earn SCAC Runner of the Year honors, continuing the program's dominance at posting the event's top medalist with 13 of the last 16 individual winners coming from Colorado College.
Fry is the first back-to-back winner on the men's side since CC's Nick Hall won three consecutive races from 2012 to 2014, and he becomes the 23rd different man to earn all-SCAC honors four times in a career.
In addition to Fry, seven other Colorado College men earned All-SCAC honors, including sophomore James Settles who finished second in 25:14.3 and senior Sam Rodriguez who was third in a time of 25:43.50. Joining Fry, Settles and Rodriguez on the all-conference squad were teammates senior Paul Olsen (fifth in 26:14.50), junior Max Saliman (sixth in 26:22.30), sophomore Devlin Swanson (seventh in 26:23.80), freshman Brett Kitazono (eighth in 26:29.50) and freshman Walt Jones (13th in 26:43.60). CC's eight All-SCAC performers at one championship meet is the most since Trinity had nine runners earn all-conference accolades at the 2015 championships. The all-conference honors for Rodriguez and Olsen are the third of their careers and Settles and Saliman have earned all-SCAC accolades each of the last two seasons.
The team title represents the ninth overall for the Colorado College men's cross country program (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020/21 and 2021).
Colorado College finished with a team score of 17 to finish 44 points clear of second-place Trinity University, who had 61 points. Only the 2005 DePauw University and 2015 Trinity squads, who both posted perfect scores of 15, and the 2001 DePauw men with 16 points, have put together more dominating performances. The 44-point margin of victory for the CC men is the sixth-largest in the 31-year history of the event and the largest since DePauw finished 45 points clear of Centre College in 2004.
Leading the way for Trinity were freshman Will Salony and junior Ben Whittemore who posted ninth and 10th-place finishes, crossing the line at 26:30.10 and 26:31.30, respectively, to earn All-SCAC recognition. The all-conference honor is the second straight for Whittemore. Sophomore Joseph Herlin also secured an all-SCAC spot with his 14th-place finish in 26:58.90.
Competing in just its third SCAC championship meet, the University of St. Thomas finished third with a score of 73, its best-ever team finish. The Celts were led by freshman Andres Padron, who crossed the line in a time of 25:49.10 to place fourth and earn both all-conference recognition and SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year honors in the process. Teammate and fellow freshman Jhancarlos Carpio also earned all-SCAC honors with an 11th-place finish in 26:37.50.
Behind a 12th-place finish by junior Noah Dennis, Southwestern University finished fourth in the team standings with 101 total points. Dennis is Southwestern's first runner to earn back-to-back all-SCAC honors since Josh Im and John Hattan in 2018.
Rounding out the team standings, Texas Lutheran University was fifth with 159 points, Schreiner University was sixth with 176 points and the University of Dallas was seventh with a team score of 178.
2021 Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team
1. Josh Fry, Colorado College - 25:03.80
2. James Settles, Colorado College - 25:14.30
3. Sam Rodriguez, Colorado College - 25:43.50
4. Andres Padron, University of St. Thomas - 25:49.10
5. Paul Olsen, Colorado College - 26:14.50
6. Max Saliman, Colorado College - 26:22.30
7. Devlin Swanson, Colorado College - 26:23.80
8. Brett Kitazono, Colorado College - 26:29.50
9. Will Salony, Trinity University - 26:30.10
10. Ben Whittemore, Trinity University - 26:31.30
11. Jhancarlos Carpio, University of St. Thomas - 26:37.50
12. Noah Dennis, Southwestern University - 26:41.60
13. Walt Jones, Colorado College - 26:43.60
14. Joseph Herlin, Trinity University - 26:58.90
