Newhouse, Knutson, Lizarraga, Clancy compete at national championships

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Four Mount Mercy cross country standouts raced at the 2022 NAIA Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park. Deanna Newhouse and Sergio Lizarraga finished in the top 150 in their respective races.

All four Mustang competitors were first-team all-Heart of America Athletic Conference performers at the league championships on Nov. 5. At nationals, Newhouse placed 142nd out of 326 runners in the women's 5K with a time of 19:18.3. J'Lyn Knutson finished 258th in 20:12.7 for Mount Mercy.

Lina May of William Carey was the individual champion, racing to the finish line in 16:50.9. Addy Wiley of Huntington was runner-up in 16:58.9. Taylor picked up their first national title by a huge margin. The Trojans finished with 50 points while Milligan came in second with 177. College of Idaho (201), St. Francis (Ill.) (203), and Cornerstone (211) rounded out the top five.

Lizarraga ran the men's 8K in 25:49.5 to place 136th in a field of 318 competitors. Ryan Clancy also ran a solid race for the Mustangs, crossing the finish line in 26:44 to finish 235th.

Abraham Chelangam was the men's individual champ with a time of 23:41.9. His teammate, Shimales Abebe, was second in 24:03.9. Despite having the top two runners in the field, Oklahoma City ended up sixth. Dordt also won their first national championship with 97 points. Milligan was the men's runner-up as well with 115 points. The Buffaloes were followed by The Master's (151), Indiana Wesleyan (208), and St. Francis (Ill.) (208).