Chris Burke became the third straight SUNY Delhi runner to win the NJCAA Division III men's cross country national championship Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.
The Broncos also won their sixth consecutive team title, scoring a record 22 points to easily beat runner-up Alfred State (70).
Delhi's Justin Wood won his first championship as a coach in his first season as the head of the Broncos' men. He is in his second season as Delhi's women coach and also leads both track and field teams.
Wood took over the men's team from longtime coach Bob Backus, who stepped away from coaching when he became Delhi's athletic director. Backus won nine championships as men's coach.
"I knew I had big shoes to fill," Wood said. "I want to continue the tradition of a very strong distance-oriented program and we were able to do that this year."
It's the 12th overall title for the Broncos in the 19-year history of the meet.
"I was thrilled to get this national championship," said Wood, a Walton graduate who finished second as a freshman during Delhi's national championship season in 2002.
"We had a very good team coming in," he continued. "We were favored to win it. I told the guys that I don't want to just win it, I want to do something special."
Burke, who placed second last season, finished the 8-kilometer course in 27 minutes, 42 seconds. Former teammate Chris Mason won the championship for Delhi the past two years.
Wood said Burke pulled away over the final mile, using a hill to separate himself from runner-up Jesus Escareno, who finished second for Harper College in 27:58.
"He raced well," Wood said. "There were some guys hanging with him. ... He didn't win it with a kick. He kind of pulled away. He's a very strong runner and is in very good shape. He finished the final mile off strong."
The Broncos had six All-Americans.
Lyle Haywood placed fourth (28:15) and Jason Phillips was fifth (28:22) to earn First Team All-American honors with Burke. Second-teamers Steve Challacombe and Zavior Brown placed seventh (28:38) and ninth (28:45), respectively, and Mike Cauwels finished 12th (28:49) for an honorable mention.
Will Ennis was 19th (29:14) to round out Delhi's runners.
Delhi's women placed fourth with 108 points. Ocean County College won with 73 points, followed by Mohawk Valley (96) and Broome (107).
"They ran well," Wood said. "If the girls ran their best race of the year, we would have finished second. They ran well and tough. The women's race was stacked. ... We just weren't able to pull it all together and finish any higher. Fourth place is good for our program."
Delhi Central graduate Hannah Backus, Bob's daughter, placed sixth to earn Second Team All-American honors. A freshman, Backus completed the 5K race in 21:07.
Nicole Darling placed 11th in 21:13 for an honorable mention. Ocean's Jen Nelson won the title in 19:48.
NJCAA D-III Championships
Saturday at Finger Lakes CC
Men's team scores: SUNY Delhi 22, Alfred State 70, Mohawk Valley 82, Erie 131, College of DuPage 149, Suffolk 171, Gloucester 190, Finger Lakes 209, Howard 210, Cumberland 214, Brookdale 320, Queensborough 359, Herkimer 375. Incomplete: Broome, Community College of Rhode Island, Kingsborough, Middlesex, Ocean, Thadeus Stevens, Holyoke, Harper College, Bronx.
Winner: Chris Burke (Delhi) 27:42 over 8-kilometer course.
Other Delhi finishers: 4, Lyle Haywood 28:15; 5, Jason Phillips 28:22; 7, Steve Challacombe 28:38; 9, Zavior Brown 28:45; 12, Mike Cauwels 28:49; 19, Will Ennis 29:14.
Women's team scores: Ocean 73, Mohawk Valley 96, Broome 107, SUNY Delhi 108, Alfred State 141, Harper 193, Suffolk 199, College of Dupage 229, Herkimer 242, Erie 251, Anne Arundel 255, Gloucester 275, Community College of Rhode Island 279, Queensborough 356, Finger Lakes 358, FIT 360, Cumberland 436. Incomplete: Brookdale CC, Howard CC, Hudson Valley CC, Joliet Junior, Kingsborough CC, Middlesex CC.
Winner: Jen Nelson (Ocean) 19:48 over 5-kilometer course.
Delhi: 6, Hannah Backus 21:07; 11, Nicole Darling 21:13; 19, Britleigh Levens 21:44; 29, Ann Ward 22:31; 45, Kim McKay 23:14; 50, Danielle Metz 23:26; 75, Katie Ferguson 25:43.
ECAC Championships
SUNY Cobleskill senior Kane Seamon (Richfield Springs) finished 15th out of 295 runners in the East Coast Athletic Conference Division III Championships at Williams College (Mass.) on Saturday.
Seamon earned all-ECAC honors after completing the 8-kilometer course in 27:24.7. He became the first Fighting Tigers runner to earn all-ECAC status.
Cobleskill had 374 points to place 14th out of 42 complete teams.
Junior Meghan LaPoint led the Fighting Tigers women with a 22nd-place finish out of 256 runners. LaPoint completed the 6-kilometer course in 24:48. Cobleskill finished 19th out of 39 complete teams.
