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Men's Recap...2016 Collegiate Mountain Running Championships (Lincoln, NH)

Published by
CollegiateRunning   Sep 1st 2016, 7:59pm
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Daniels wins 2016 Collegiate Mountain Running National Championships

The Loon Mountain Race served as both the U.S. and Collegiate championships; three collegians earn spot on 2016 U.S. Mountain Running Team

The third Collegiate Mountain Running National Champions were crowned as part of the 2016 Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, New Hampshire on July 3, 2016. The Loon Mountain Race also served as the U.S. Mountain Running Championships and was the only team selection race for the upcoming World Championships in Sapareva Banha, Bulgaria. The top six men and top four women automatically qualified for the U.S. Mountain Running Team and the top three male and female college students split a $3,000 prize purse provided by the Collegiate Running Association. With both prize money and Team U.S.A. spots on the line, the competition proved to be fierce in both races.

A record number of participants were on hand for the races, including 52 college students representing more than 40 colleges and universities from across the U.S. This is more than double the collegiate participation from two years ago when the first Collegiate Championships were held in Lincoln. In all, roughly 600 participants competed and conquered the 10.6k run up the mountain, which was highlighted by the infamously steep Upper Walking Boss – nearly 1000m of climbing with an average incline of 40%.

Men’s Recap                                                                                                     

Nearly ideal temperatures of 60 degrees greeted runners at the start of the men’s race and as a result there was little hesitation among the field as the competitors charged the course at a blistering pace early on. The gradual climbs of the first three miles contributed to a quick pace as the nation’s top mountain runners, including 2015 Collegiate Running Association’s Male Athlete of the Year and alumni Joe Gray, attacked the course. Tucked among the perennial favorites from the start were new-comers Hayden Hawks (Southern Utah) and Matt Daniels (Adams State), and both men quickly pulled away from the rest of the collegiate field as a result. Though neither Hawks nor Daniels had run a mountain race before, it did not show on the course, as they settled-in 2nd and 3rd overall very quickly.

As they passed the 5-mile point, Hawks held a slight lead over Daniels for the top collegiate spot; but it would be the famed Upper Walking Boss, a 1,000M wall of mountain, where Daniels would catch, in his words, a “second wind,” ultimately passing Hawks to secure the title. As Daniels climbed the Boss en route to his first Collegiate Running Association title and the $750 prize, he would also secure a spot on the U.S. Mountain Running Team (USMRT) with his 3rd place finish in the USATF Championships with a time of 50:36.7. Hawks, a fighter to the end, hung on close to finish second among collegians and 4th overall in 50:49.2. As a result, Hawks also earned a spot on the U.S. Mountain Running Team in addition to the $500 second-place prize for collegians. 

Third among collegians was Justin Keefe (University of Richmond). Keefe, a triathlete by trade who won the Cohasset Triathlon the weekend before, ran an impressive race over the final 2.5 miles pulling away from Richmond teammate Tim Gruber on his way to earning the $250 third-place prize.

                          Collegiate Male Top 10

Place      Bib          Name                                      City               State     Time    

===== ===== ================== === ============ =======

    1          3558       Matt Daniels         Evergreen     CO       50:36.7

    2          3639       Hayden Hawks     Cedar City     UT       50:49.2 

    3          3673       Justin Keefe          Somerville     MA       55:23.0 

    4          9110       Timothy Gruber   Huntersville   VA        56:06.8 

    5          3489       Drew Best             Amherst        MA        56:35.8 

    6          3805       Sam Nishi              Waitsfield      VT         56:59.7

    7          9109       Jonathan Houge   Richmond     VA         57:45.4 

    8          3972       Kurt Ward             Auburn          AL         59:55.3 

    9          3678       Ryan Kelly             Concord        NH      1:00:27.3 

   10        3921       Fabian Stocek       Hanover        NH      1:01:56.1



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