Jackson Brainerd, shown here at the UCCS Rust Buster early in the season, led CC to a berth in the NCAA DIII National Championship this weekend. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Jackson Brainerd led the Colorado College men to a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III West Regional on Saturday by winning the individual title at the meet by 0.16 seconds (25:26.65). Jackson's finish helped the Tigers to a team score of 93, behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Willamette University.
Since only the top two teams auto-advance to this weekend's national meet, CC had to wait to hear of their fate until well after the meet was over. The wait proved worth it, however, as CC claimed one of 16 at-large berths to the NCAA Division III National Championship meet in Cleveland, Ohio.
Daniel Kraft and Andrew Wagner were the second and third CC finishers, in 18th and 19th places, respectively. They finished in 26:24 and 26:26 over the 8K course.
CC received the only at-large bid issued to the West Region. Their last two meets have taken them, literally, across the country as they won the SCAC meet in Conyers, Georgia, two weeks ago to bolster their chances for an at-large bid to the national championship meet.