KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second time this season, the Cascade Collegiate Conference swept the NAIA Cross Country weekly honors. No. 24 Corban University’s Robert Swoboda and The Evergreen State College’s Alauna Carstens were named the NAIA Cross Country Runners of the Week, announced Wednesday by the national office.
On Saturday, Swoboda competed at the LC State Invite in Lewiston, Idaho, against top NAIA and NCAA competition. The graduate student from Ukiah, Calif., took first overall among 156 total runners. He completed the 8K with a time of 23:54.0, breaking Corban’s school record by 24 seconds and leading the Warriors to a sixth-place team finish. This was his second consecutive record-breaking race as the top NAIA finisher and second national weekly honor of the year.
On Saturday, Carstens competed at the George Oja Invitational against top NAIA and NCAA competition. The sophomore from Shelton, Wash., was the first NAIA and third overall finisher among 187 total runners. She completed the 6K course in 21:07.8, crushing Evergreen’s school record by 47 seconds.
Up next, Swoboda and Carstens will prepare for the 2023 Cascade Collegiate Conference Cross Country Championships, presented by U.S. Bank, which will take place on November 3rd, hosted by College of Idaho.