Mara Olson and Joseph Gray win inaugural Collegiate Running Association Trail Championships

Race was held as part of the Indiana Urban Wilderness Run

June 13, 2015 - Indianapolis, IN – Mara Olson (Butler University) and Joseph Gray (Calvary Bible College) were victorious in the first-ever Collegiate Running Association Trail Championships (¼ Marathon – 10.55k) held this morning in Indianapolis, Indiana. The race, held as part of the Indiana Urban Wilderness Run, was the first public event to utilize a recently completed section of urban trails along the Fall Creek and White River corridors.

For Olson, the victory capped off an incredible 36 hours that started with an 11th place finish at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday evening and culminated with her taking home the first place prize of $1,000 on Saturday morning at the CRA Trail Championships. Between the two races, Olson managed to catch a redeye flight that had her arrive in Indianapolis just a couple of hours prior to the 9:00am start time.

Former George Mason University standout Bethany Sachtleben proved to be a formidable challenge for Olson for the majority of the women’s race, but ultimately was not able to close the gap late. Competing in her first CRA National Championships, Sachtleben earned herself a $750 runner-up prize. Samantha Bluske (Toledo), Samantha Ginther (Indiana University) and Marion Cherop (Western Kentucky University) finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively, earning $600, $400, and $250.

On the men’s side, the victory served as a little bit of redemption for Joseph Gray after he finished 2nd in the CRA 10k Road Race Championships last March in Richmond, VA. The 18- time Team USA member and 9-time US National Champion used a strong push throughout the second half of the race to pull away from runner-up Stephen Cheptoek (Western Kentucky University). Will Christian (Old Dominion University) had a great race to finish in third and was followed closely by Lex Williams (Illinois State University) and Benjamin Snodgrass (Binghamton University).......

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