Three Vulcan runners will represent the men’s and women’s cross country programs at the 2014 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships on Dec. 6 in Louisville, Ky.
Men’s cross country
Senior Aaron Dinzeo will represent Cal U at the national competition after winning the men’s NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional at Slippery Rock on Nov. 22. He finished with a time of 31 minutes, 49.8 seconds.
Dinzeo earned cross country All-American honors last year and in 2011 by finishing second and 20th nationally.
Now a three-time NCAA Division II Cross Country Nationals qualifier, Dinzeo is Cal U’s first regional cross country champion since Christopher Clark in 2008.
Senior Abel Robinault will compete nationally for the first time. He qualified by finishing in 10th place at the regional competition, with a time of 32 minutes, 53 seconds.
Women’s cross country
Sophomore Julie Friend heads to nationals after a seventh-place finish at the regional contest. She ran the course in 22 minutes, 51.8 seconds, and missed finishing in fourth place by just two seconds.
Friend is just the second Vulcan female student-athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, joining teammate (and 2014 redshirt) Alex Zanella, who qualified last year and finished 100th nationally in a field of 244 runners.