Imagine, if you will: 33 degrees, overcast, 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground and hundreds of student athletes gathered for the NCAA Division II National Championships at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
This morning, I had the greatest of pleasures in watch our men's cross country team compete in the Division 2 championships and then to watch Naomi Tanui compete in the women's championship. While the team improved in the standings from last year, finishing 18th in the nation, senior Meschack Koyiaki finished No. 2 in the nation in an incredibly exciting finish on a very challenging 10-kilometer course.
Coach J.D. Evilisizer, a truly exceptional mentor and guide and a terrific instructor of mathematics, brought the team again to the national championships and some incredibly inclement weather. Members of the men's and women's teams who were not competing cheered their mates, wearing red and blue paint, and themselves tracked their colleagues over most of the course. I was so very proud of these exceptional student-athletes competing just before final exams and reflecting so positively on the strength and value of DII athletics.
It's a terrific group of Cougars who, like so many others, continue to distinguish themselves in so many ways. Later in the day, I drove across town to join a group of CSU faculty colleagues at the annual meeting of our primary accrediting body, the SACS Commission on Colleges.
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