NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country National Championships Preview

After many, many miles, a motivated Hope College men's cross country team is still chasing.

The 16th-ranked Flying Dutchmen have already accomplished a great deal this fall, including MIAA and Great Lakes Regional championships. Still, the Orange and Blue are not satisfied yet heading into the NCAA Division III national championships.

Hope race eight kilometers one final time this season: 10 a.m. today at the Roger Milliken Cross Country Course in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Flying Dutch will follow at 11 a.m. with the women's 6K race. It is the first time both Hope men's and women's teams qualified for the national championship in the same season.

"They still feel their best is in front of them," head coach Mark Northuis said of his men's runners. "They are not ready to be done. I'm sure after Saturday they will be ready to take a break, but these men have committed to race this season. It's been a fun time watching them carry that out to full capacity."

Twelve runners traveled down south to nationals: MIAA MVP and all-region Logan Begeman, all-region honorees Carston Cole, Lucas Guidone, Jonathan Harlow, Cooper Jackson, Elias Kretchmar, and Aiden Moore, and Nile Devers, Elijah Forbord, Max Lewis, Noah Norris, Chad Perrine, and Ian Petruska.

Seven will race in the meet, forming the pack that will compete against 31 other teams.

Hope aims to repeat the formula that has fueled this season's success, Northuis said.

"We run as a team," Northuis said. "At reguoinals, we finished seven within 24 seconds of each other. That's as tight of pack of any region that we've seen put out there."

The Flying Dutchmen will also rely on their experience at the nationals' course. Hope opened the season on Aug. 30 at the Eye Opener Meet hosted by NCAA Division I University of South Carolina Upstate at the Roger Milliken Center.

The Orange and Blue placed third out of 12 teams, finishing behind NCAA Division I Furman University and Clemson University.

"We learned how to race there in August," Northuis said. "We know where we want to go."

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