TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Justin Morgan became the first Montana Tech men's cross country runner to log a top-15 finish at the NAIA national championships, running in 13th place Friday morning in the title race at Apalachee Regional Park.
Morgan, a graduate student from Thompson Falls, breezed through the 8-kilometer course in 24:43.4 to earn his second-career All-America honor on the cross country course.
Senior Ben Zerr followed in 26:22.6 to take 159th for the Orediggers.
Morgan ran in the lead pack the entire race. He crossed the initial checkpoint at 1,170m in 11th before falling to 16th by the 2,170m mark in a tightly bunched group of leaders. He moved up to fifth by the midway point, racing just 0.3 seconds behind the leader.
In the second half of the race, the pack separated out. Morgan stayed near the front, running 15th with 2k to go. Between the 6k and 7k mark, he moved up to 13th and held that spot for the remainder of the run.
For Morgan, who was 33rd at the 2023 national meet, it was the best-ever finish for a Montana Tech man on the national cross country stage. Two of the three All-America honors in program history belong to him.
Zerr improved off his showing in the 2024 meet by 16 spots; he was 175th a season ago.
Jack Anderson of The Master's ran home with the individual title, while Indiana Wesleyan laid claim to the team championship.
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