By: Kyle Keck | Sports Writer
The Taylor men's and women's cross country teams crossed their final finish line of the season at the NAIA Nationals, finishing in 19th and 11th place overall, respectively.
The NAIA Nationals race in Charlotte, North Carolina, resulted in a momentous finish for junior Matt Hall. Hall, a decorated Crossroads League runner, finished 12th out of 356 runners. The race marked his second straight top-20 Nationals finish.
Not only did Hall finish in the top 20, but he also shattered his personal record by 20 seconds with a time of 24:55.3.
"I'm just extremely thankful to God," Hall said. "I was very happy that I was able to finish the season with a personal record. Running has been such a blessing in my life, and I'm so thankful for coach and the team. Placing 12th was nice as well, especially since I had a rough performance last year at Nationals. I really wanted to redeem myself and prove that I could be an All-American."Hall proved exactly that by becoming the first NAIA All-American in Taylor's cross country program since head coach and former runner Lance Vanderberg earned the honor in 2005. The men's team's performance earned them the No. 20 slot in the NAIA postseason poll.
On the women's side, the Nationals race marked its third-straight meet placing three runners in the top 100. Sophomore Alex Berends led the Trojans by placing 46th overall with a time of 18:32.3, while freshman Mae Elizabeth Gimre placed 59th overall with a new personal record of 18:42.5. Senior Jane Hawks ran for a time of 18:58.0 and placed 89th overall to round out her third-straight top-100 finish at NAIA Nationals. The women's team earned a No. 11 ranking in the NAIA postseason poll.
Both teams finished the season as perennially outstanding programs on the course and in the classroom. The men's team led the NAIA with eight scholar athletes, while the women's team was second in the NAIA with eight scholar athletes as well.
Photograph provided by TU Sports Information Department
