GOLDEN EAGLES CLARK SET FOR NATIONALS
Chris Clark (Hadley/Commodore Perry) will be making history Saturday for the Clarion University men’s cross country team.
Clark will become the first Golden Eagles men’s cross country runner to run at the NCAA Division II National Championship meet. The meet is being held in Pensacola, Fla., as part of the inaugural NCAA Division II Fall Sports Festival.
The junior qualified for the national meet by taking fifth at the NCAA East Regional meet at Slippery Rock Nov. 4.
“I’m really excited to run at nationals,” Clark said. “This was definitely my goal from the beginning of the year. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t run my best race at Regionals, but at the same time I was still able to accomplish my goal of reaching nationals.”
Clark’s trip to nationals started last season when he earned All-PSAC honors at the conference meet with a 10th place finish and then took 18th at the 2005 NCAA Regionals. He followed up the cross country season with a spectacular track season that saw him take third in the 5,000 at PSAC’s while qualifying for the NCAA National meet in both the 5,000 and 10,000. At the NCAA D-II meet, he finished 12th in the 5,000 and 14th in the 10,000. That spring boarded him into this year’s cross country season where he took third at the PSAC meet, the highest finish in school history, while leading the Golden Eagles to a school record third place ending.
“I wanted to build on last year’s success in both cross country and track,” Clark said. “It was big going to nationals in track last year and placing as high as I did. I used that as a slingshot into this summer and then into this cross country season. I had high hopes and expectations going into the season.”
Clarion University interim head coach Jayson Resch believes Clark has earned his NCAA bid with hard work and determination.
“Chris is a great athlete and a great person.” Resch said. “He leads by example and with dedication and hard work not just in athletics but in academics as well. He makes a lot of the life choices that lends to him doing well in both.”
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – The University of West Florida is serving as the host institution for the Fall Sports Festival, which is an Olympic-style event that is expected to accommodate over 800 student-athletes from 70 different teams … The Clarion women’s cross country team qualified for the NCAA National meet in 2002 … The last Golden Eagle individual women’s runner to make Nationals was Melissa Terwilliger, who earned All-American status in 2003 with a 17th place finish … Clark’s fifth place finish at Regionals was the highest official finish at a Regional competition for an Eagle men’s runner since George Drushel was 4th at the 1982 District 18 Championship … Jim Snyder did finish second at the 1986 NCAA Division II East Regional, but the race was declared a no contest because half of the field took a wrong turn during the race.
