SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Casey Ellis registered a time of 32:25.5 in the 10k on Saturday, as he represented the East Stroudsburg University men's cross country team with a strong showing at the NCAA Division II Championships at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento.
Ellis earned an at-large selection to Nationals after collecting All-Region honors at the Atlantic Region Championships two weekends ago with a ninth-place finish out of 134 competitors. With his at-large selection, Ellis became the first Warrior to individually quality for the NCAA Championships since Darryl Brown in 2002.
Ellis opened Saturday's race strong, completing the first 5k in 15:46.8 as he was just off pace of his 5k PR. Ellis crossed the finish line in 32:25.5 to take 180th place out of 267 competitors, finishing ahead of eight other runners from the PSAC, including three who bested Ellis during the conference championships.
Colorado School of Mines won the Championship with 57 team points, beating out Adams State (136 pts) and Chico State (143). Ezra Mutai of American International won the individual title with a time of 29:31.2.
