Claremont, Calif. — Dec. 4, 2023 — With impressive feats on the track, the Sagehens men’s cross country team has clinched three major wins in Division III athletics this fall—including a one-point victory on the national level.
At the end of October, Pomona-Pitzer’s team ran to their third-straight SCIAC Championship in dominant fashion finishing with 23 team points with all five scorers placing in the top 10. The Sagehens finished with nine runners earning All-SCIAC for their top-20 finishes.
In November the team ran their way to the West Region Championship Crown for the sixth year in a row. The Sagehens recorded 45 points, earning five All-Region finishes with the top-five runners all finishing inside the top-20. Later in that month, the Sagehens fought their way to a one-point victory to claim the 2023 NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Championship.
The exciting NCAA Division III win is the Sagehens’ third National Championship in program history, with all three titles coming since the 2019 season. Winning three titles in a four-year span has only been accomplished by three other programs in history—North Central College, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and Calvin University.
Pomona-Pitzer had the crowd in disbelief as they stormed through the last 2,000 meters of the race, jumping from third place to first place. The Sagehens were ranked No. 8 in the country heading into the NCAA Championships, with most spectators looking to see if University of Wisconsin La-Crosse, North Central, Carnegie Mellon, or MIT could pull off the victory. The Sagehens had other plans as they sprinted off the line and worked from the front of the pack before using a late surge to clinch the crown at the buzzer against UW La-Crosse. The one-point victory is the first occurrence in the NCAA Division III Men’s Championship.
During the race, the Sagehens earned four All-American honors overall. The one-point victory will go down as one of the most exciting cross country races in history and will bring another National Title back to Sixth Street for the Sagehens.
Along with the victory, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named head coach Amber Williams as the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, earning the honor in her first season as head coach with the Sagehens.
Adapted from the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics press releases “Sagehens Soar to Third-Straight SCIAC Championship,” “Sagehens Earn Sixth Straight NCAA West Region Crown,” and “National Champions! Sagehens Earn One-Point Victory to Claim Third National Championship Title.” To learn more, please visit Sagehen Athletics.
