2013 West Regional Championship Results

Spokane, WA – Two years, two NCAA Nationals appearances.

Running through cold conditions for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex, Nicolas Rifflard of Academy of Art University kept his memorable first collegiate cross country season going with a 15th place finish overall. The performance had him as one of the top three individual finishers who are eligible for Nationals on Nov. 23 once again in Spokane, WA. Additionally, Kaelyn Harbison and Temarius Walker toughed out chilly weather in their respective first NCAA Regional races.

"This day will stay one of the best athletics moments in my life and probably the hardest cross country race I've ever competed in," Rifflard said. "I feel so happy to be qualified for Nationals and I'm honored to be the first man to go from ART U. I hope next season we will go as a team, but right now I'm focused for this next race where my goal will be to finish as an All American."

Rifflard was a man on a mission Saturday morning. Running an extended 10k course in conditions that were around the low 40s, the junior powered his way to a time of 32:26.7. He was just fractions of a second behind Tareq Alwafai of UC San Diego and ahead of Cal Poly Pomona's Mark Huizar and UCSD's Tanner Collins. He becomes the second Urban Knight to reach NCAA Nationals after Jenny Bergren did it in 2012 en route to her All-American honor.

"The team and I are so happy to have ART U represented at the NCAA Championships for a second year in a row," associate head coach Torrey Olson said. "Nicolas ran a very gutsy race, and we're all very excited for him to race at NCAAs. Additionally, not graduating anybody from this year's team makes this experience extremely valuable for future ART U squads."

Also on the men's side, Walker turned in a 35:38.7, crossing the finish line at 119th overall. He beat out both Cal State Monterey Bay's Ryan Torres and Nathan Morgan of Saint Martin's. The men's race was won by Isaac Chavez (30:55.81) of Chico State with the team title going to the Wildcats after they finished one-two-three individually.
Starting off the day, Harbison challenged the top runners from the GNAC, CCAA, and Pacific West Conferences in the final race of a stellar freshman campaign. She went 23:49 on the 6k course, finishing 74th overall individually. She was wedged in between Cal State San Bernardino's Deserae Perez and Western Washington's Sofia Marikis.

A tandem from Alaska Anchroage, Susan Tanui (21:45.4) and Joyce Kipchumba (21:48.4), guided the Seawolves to first place overall on the women's side.

Rifflard will return to Spokane, WA on Nov. 23 for the 10k men's race at NCAA Nationals.