Brainerd; Underdog Tigers Claim West Region Men's XC Title

Brainerd; Underdog Tigers Claim West Region Men's XC Title

(Portions of this story courtesy of the Colorado College website)

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Colorado College senior Jackson Brainerd won the 2011 NCAA West Regional championship - his third consecutive regional individual title - and teammate and fellow senior Robby Caseria posted a fifth-place finish to lead the Tigers to the men's team title.

The Tigers, ranked No. 5 in the West, claimed the men's team title at their regional championship meet in Pomona, Calif., after winning a tiebreaker with No. 1-ranked Occidental College. West Region Results

Both teams advance to next week's Nationals at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

It is the third consecutive regional crown for Brainerd, who entered the race as a three-time individual champion in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. By finishing among the top 35 in Saturday's 8K competition, he and Caseria earned All-Region accolades.

Brainerd completed the damp course in 24 minutes and 53.4 seconds, more than six seconds ahead of his closest pursuer, junior Rafen Dannenhauer of third-place Claremont-Mudd Scripps.

Caseria's clocking of 25:12.8 represents yet another personal record for him.

Colorado College and Occidental both scored 76 points, but CC's combined time of 2:08:45.2 was almost 30 seconds faster in determining the tiebreaker.

Joining Brainerd and Caseria in earning All-Region recognition, with top-35 finishes, were freshman Nick Hall, senior Kaleb Fergin and junior Max Marinelli. Hall was 15th with a time of 25:56.2, Fergin 20th at 26:11.5 and Marinello 35th at 26:31.2.

SCAC Week 8 - Podcasts
October 27, 2011 SCAC Week 8 - Podcasts