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Jonas Gertsen took second for the Pilots.

Men's Cross Country

Pilots take 16th at Nationals, Three set PRs

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Portland Pilots men's cross country team took 16th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Florida, with Zak Kirk, Jonas Gertsen and Stan Niesten all setting personal records during the race.

"We are very proud of our team's effort today," Portland head coach Rob Conner said. "It's risky to start in the back but it's a long race, and in the end the team pulled out a terrific finish."

Kirk finished first for the Pilots and 52nd overall, clocking in a PR with a time of 29:40.5. That beats his PR that he set just last week at Regionals. This is the second year in a row that Kirk has taken first for the Pilots.

Gertsen and Niesten finished second and third for the Pilots (64th and 93rd overall) with times of 29:49.0 and 30:07.0 respectively. Gertsen did not run with the team at nationals last season while Niesten finished almost 40 spots higher than when he ran last season. His time was nearly two minutes faster (31:59.1) than last year. Bradley Peloquin and George Duggan were the final scoring Pilots, with times of 30:33.8 and 30:35.1 respectively

"Zak and Jonas have really emerged as national-level leaders for us, which sets us up for success next year," Conner said. "Stan closed out the season strong and Bradley and George came through big to shut the door. I couldn't be prouder of Jacob and Leo's contribution. The guys were patient and tough and it got us a Sweet-16 finish! Impressive."

This appearance was the 22nd team showing for a Rob Conner-led squad since 1993. Of his 22 qualifying teams, 18 of them have finished in the top 20.

2021 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships
Tallahassee, Fla.
Nov. 20, 2021

Team Results
  1. #1 Northern Arizona
  2. #6 Iowa State
  3. #3 Oklahoma State
  4. #9 Arkansas
  5. #7 Stanford
  6. #10 Tulsa
  7. #2 BYU
  8. #5 Colorado
  9. #4 Notre Dame
  10. #17 Wake Forest
  11. #8 Wisconsin
  12. #25 Harvard
  13. #12 Washington
  14. #13 Texas
  15. #15 Ole Miss
  16. #22 Portland
  17. #11 Air Force
  18. #18 North Carolina
  19. #19 Syracuse
  20. #27 Florida State
  21. #27 Minnesota
  22. #25 Georgetown
  23. #16 Princeton
  24. #24 Southern Utah
  25. #14 Michigan
  26. #21 Gonzaga
  27. #23 Alabama
  28. #29 Butler
  29. #20 Oregon
  30. #30 Michigan State
  31. #17 Furman
Portland Individuals
52. Zak Kirk (29:40.5) PR
64. Jonas Gertsen (29:49.0) PR
93. Stan Niesten (30:07.0) PR
146. Bradley Peloquin (30:33.8)
149. George Duggan (30:35.1)
181. Leo Donlea (30:59.3)
207. Jacob Klemz (31:16.2)
 
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