VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Goshen men's cross country team finished with a 24^th place finish on Friday at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship in Vancouver, Washington. This was the third consecutive year that the team has run at the national meet, and they have placed in the top 25 all three times. Nelson Kemboi earned a spot as an All-American for the second straight year.
 
Kemboi finished the race in 21^st place out of 330 runners. His final time for the 8,000-meter run (4.97 miles) was 25 minutes, 40.0 seconds. Kemboi was in 51^st place a quarter through the race. He moved further up the pack and was as high as tenth place with 1,000 meters to go before finishing in 21^st.
 
Kemboi's performance this year is an 11 place improvement, as he finished in 32^nd in the 2020 race (which was run in April 2021). The 21^st place finish also ties the program record for the highest finish by a man at the national meet. Ryan Smith finished 21^st as well in the 2016 national championship. "He ran a good, smart race," said head coach Rustin Nyce.
 
This is the third-highest finish the men's cross country team has had in its program history. The team was in 32^nd place after the 2,000-meter mark. They started to move forward in the middle of the race and were up in 14^th place after 7,000 meters. Then they ended in 24^th with 650 points. The team's average time was 27:12. Nyce was quite pleased with the results. "We came in at 26^th and finished 24^th, so it feels good to outperform our seed," he said.
 
After Kemboi, Liam Elias came through the finish line next for the Maple Leafs with a final time of 27:18.7 – landing him in 167^th place. Jordan Garlinger came in not long after in 184^th place in a time of 27:28.3. Jackson Steinmetz finished fourth for Goshen and 203^rd overall, completing the race in 27:36.4. The fifth spot was held by Emanuel Villanueva who finished in 28 minutes flat and the 241^st position.
 
While not contributing to the team score, Dan Kibet came in 277^th place with a 28:26.8 time, and Salvador Escamilla finished 300^th at 28:59.9.
 
Milligan (Tenn.) won the team title with 115 points. Indiana Wesleyan was the top-performing school from the Crossroads League. The Wildcats finished in third with 186 points. The individual champion went to Zouhair Talbi from Oklahoma City University. He finished with a time of 24:43.1. His teammate Shimales Abebe came in second in 24:56.6. Those two also finished 1-2 in that order at last year's national championship.
 
A pair of Crossroads League schools also placed quite well, as Huntington came in 9^th and Taylor in 11^th. Grace came in 22^nd and Marian in 29^th.
 
Nyce also wanted to share a heartfelt thank you to all the Goshen supporters that were watching the live stream from home or on-campus. Other members of the men's and women's cross country teams watched the race from the track room at the Rec-Fitness Center along with other Goshen friends. The indoor track & field season is up next, which will begin on Friday, December 10^th at Indiana Tech with the Strive for Greatness Meet.

Team - 24th, Goshen 650
21. Nelson Kemboi 25:40.0
167. Liam Elias 27:18.7
184. Jordan Garlinger 27:228.3
203. Jackson Steinmetz 27:36.4
241. Emanuel Villanueva 28:00.0
277. Dan Kibet 28:26.8
300. Salvador Escamilla 28:59.9