Cross Country | 11/23/2019 4:09:00 PM

Meet Results
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Minnesota State University Moorhead senior Nadir Yusuf finished 14th at the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships which were held on Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. Yusuf earned the first All-American honor of his Dragon running career.

Yusuf's 10K time was 30:12.6, which is the fastest 10K cross country time in school history.  He was the top finishing runner from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

"It was a gritty race," Yusuf said. "I ran hard for my guys back home. Hoisting that All-American trophy up showcased the work the guys and I put together from June to today."

"Any time there's a championship Nadir tends to show up," MSUM head track and field/cross country coach Ryan Milner said. "We were anticipating a top 20 finish. It was an aggressive start to the race, he positioned himself well and moved up the whole race. It was awesome."

The 14th-place finish is the best for a Dragon cross country runner at the NCAA Division II nationals since Clint Chamberlin finished ninth in 1968.  The best-ever finish for a Dragon cross country runner at nationals came in 1992 when Chris Ericson placed fourth at the NAIA National Championships.

More than 260 runners competed in the men's 10K. Colorado School of Mines was the team champion.

Yusuf had an outstanding senior season in cross country which ranks among the best in school history. He won two meets (Dragon Twilight and Wildcat Classic), finished third at NSIC Championships and seventh at the Central Region meet. He was 12th at the Lewis Crossover — which was the largest D2-only meet in the nation — and 14th at nationals.

"The track season was a huge part of it, laying down the 10K time he did," Milner said. "A lot of the things he did in training, and outside of training, he carried those into the cross season and that's been huge for him. The consistency of his season was phenomenal."