MASON, Ohio – The St. Thomas men’s and women’s cross country teams battled through a muddy course to finish 31st and 21st respectively Saturday at the NCAA Division-III Championships.

Sophomore Jacob Gerhartz paced the men’s squad, finishing 125th (25:26) in the field of 280 runners in the 8,000-meter race, while senior Erin Statz capped off her impressive career for the Tommies by finishing 13th (22:00) out of 275 in the 6,000-meter women’s race. Statz’s performance was enough to ensure her second career All-America honor.

“I can’t think of a better way to finish my cross country career at St. Thomas,” Statz said. “I can’t believe it’s over really, but I feel so blessed being here.”

After Statz, the next four runners for the women were only separated by a 25-second margin. Sophomore Bridget McGivern placed 146th (23:34), senior Melissa Engstrom took 168th (23:41), junior Emily Gapinski finished 198th (23:56) and sophomore Alex Fossum placed 200th (23:59).

McGivern said the Tommies’ strong finish was a result of a total team effort.

“Our pack was very close as usual, which really helped us,” McGivern said. “Everyone was running for each other, which is all we ask for.”

Statz was the only member of the women’s team that came into Saturday’s race with experience in the NCAA Championships, and coach Joe Sweeney said the rest of the team can hopefully build on the experience they gained.

“It’s always great to have an All-American be up there,” Sweeney said. “I think it gets people excited for the future, and hopefully it’s the beginning of another era.”

Statz agreed that the team’s future looks bright and said experience gained this year will drive the team in upcoming years.

“Experience is huge, and four girls come back next year with those same goals,” Statz said. “It might be a little overwhelming at nationals the first time, but hopefully it sets a tradition.”

While Statz had experience at the national level, all seven runners on the men’s team were first-time participants on the national stage.

After Gerhartz, the next four runners for the men finished the race in under 26:15. Junior Dylan Baumann placed 168th (25:41), senior Robby Williams was 218th (26:03), senior Brian Anderson took 220th (26:04) and sophomore Trevor Smith placed 238th (26:15).

McGivern said the large scale of the NCAA Championships was a little overwhelming at first.

“We are used to being challenged by one or two teams, not 31 others,” McGivern said. “We knew it would be tough … The majority of us hadn’t had the actual experience of being in a national meet.”

Statz said the team had a meeting before the race to warn each other about the challenges ahead.

“Two hundred runners is a whole new experience, and they don’t spread out. It’s a wall of people and a wall of noise,” Statz said.

Sweeney gave the leaders on the team – Statz, Engstrom and fellow senior Kayla Goeman – credit for the team’s resurgence but pointed out that the Tommies’ young talent is what excites him most.

“Our success was because of tremendous leadership and our depth,” Sweeney said. “We’re probably deeper with young talent than in the past, and that’s what is the most exciting.”

Sweeney said both teams broke through after lengthy droughts away from the NCAA Championships, and that success gets people excited for the future.

“Winning solves everything, and it gets people excited and opens some eyes,” Sweeney said. “Hopefully the strong finishes for both teams will get momentum going because everyone still wants to go further and do better.”

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.