Event: NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Where: LaVerne Gibson Championship course – Terre Haute, Ind.
When: Today at 9:48 a.m.
Did You Know? Two out of the last three team winners on the men’s side at the Cross Country National Championships came from the West Region – the same region UC Davis is in.
Preview: It’s been a season of firsts for the Aggies this year.
They won their first Big West Conference team title earlier this season.
Now, UC Davis is sending its first male runner to the Division I National Championship since joining Division I.
Fresh off a fifth place showing at the NCAA West Regionals, junior Jonathan Peterson will make the historic run for UC Davis.
Peterson has never finished below 14th place all season. The Clovis, Calif. native has won three races, including the Big West men’s individual title. Peterson finished 17 seconds faster than anyone else at the conference championships. For his performance, Peterson was voted Big West Conference Male Athlete of the Year.
The postseason accolades don’t stop with Peterson, however.
Coach Drew Wartenburg became the first UC Davis cross country coach to be named Big West Men’s Coach of the Year since the program joined division I and the Big West.
Senior Calvin Thigpen wasn’t left out of the awards either. Thigpen finished 20th at the regionals and received All-Region accolades from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Thigpen, however, won’t be making the trip to Indiana for the NCAA Championships.
Senior Caitlin Fitzgerald was the highest finisher for the UC Davis women at the West Regionals as she finished 33rd overall.
The opening gun will fire at the NCAA Championships at 9:48 a.m. Peterson will be in fourth box draw for the 10K race.
– Jason Alpert
