RESULTS l NCAA PAGE
NORTHFIELD, MN -- Seniors Nick Stenuf and Brendan Epstein finished 38th and 39th respectively out of 280 runners at the NCAA Division III National Championship meet at St. Olaf's College in Minnesota. Stenuf completed the eight-kilometer course in 25:17 while Epstein finished just one second later.
Stenuf, of East Syracuse, N.Y. and a graduate of East Syracuse-Minoa, earned first-team Empire 8 honors at the Empire 8 Conference meet October 20th. He also earned all-Atlantic Region honors after placing 11th at the Atlantic Regional November 10th. Despite being a senior, Stenuf has another year of athletic ability remaining and plans to return to the Golden Flyers' cross country team next year. Stenuf has been one of Nazareth's top track and field athletes since transferring from Coastal Carolina during his freshman year. He experienced immediate success in cross country after competing in it for the first time during the 2006 season.
Epstein, of Moravia, N.Y. and a graduate of Moravia High School, also earned first-team Empire 8 honors. Additionally, Epstein was named Nazareth's representative on the Sportsman of the Year team and received numerous Conference Runner of the Week honors over the 2007 season. After winning the Empire 8 individual title, Epstein was unanimously selected as the Empire 8 Conference Runner of the Year. Epstein added all-Atlantic Region honors to his resume` after finishing 10th at the Atlantic Regional November 10th. Epstein's success this season was no surprise as he has persistently been one of the Golden Flyers' top performers on the cross country and track and field teams since his freshman year.
Stenuf and Epstein are the first male runners to advance to the national meet in the cross country team's five-year history. They were joined at St. Olaf's by senior Jessica Brown, who was Nazareth's first female runner to qualify to run at the National Championships.
The three Golden Flyers agreed, "Competing at the NCAA National Championship meet is an enormous stepping stone for the young Nazareth programs. Running in the national meet is a great goal for high school runners to strive for when they enter Nazareth."
