The Rowan University men’s cross country team finished ninth out of 42 teams at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Atlantic Regional race this past Saturday.

Sophomore Cyril Harvey was Rowan’s top finisher, placing 30th out of 299 runners. Harvey believed that the team gave it all they had in a race with non-ideal conditions for runners.

“It was a rough race, the conditions weren’t fantastic,” Harvey said. “We made the most of what we had. We raced tough like we had been all season, and the result was what it was. I am proud of our performance.”

Unfortunately, the team’s performance was not enough for the Brown and Gold to qualify for the NCAA Championship race, ending the team’s cross country season.

However, Harvey’s season is not over yet.

Harvey has qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, after a runner from the Atlantic region dropped out of the individual qualifiers. Harvey will be running in his first NCAA Championship race and he will be taking notes for the future.

“I’m more excited than anything. I’m looking forward to getting experience going there,” Harvey said. “So that when we go as a team in the future, I’ll know what to expect and I can tell that to the other guys. I will be taking advantage of this experience as much as I can, and I’m going to enjoy it.”

Head Coach Dustin Dimit gave a rundown of Harvey’s preparation for the championship race.

“The field and the course is pretty similar to our home meet that we had here for the Border Battle earlier this year,” Dimit said. “We are going to encourage him to go out similarly to that, and see how high he can finish in that field.”

As the young runners progress this offseason, look for them to be a team in the headlines next season.

As for Harvey, he will be getting himself ready for the NCAA Championships race, set for Nov. 23 at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

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