STILLWATER, Okla. – Graduate student Christopher Alfond (Ashby, Mass.) and senior Kyle Cloutier (Lancaster, Mass.) competed at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday.
 
Alfond, making his second straight appearance at the national championship, finished 70th overall in the 10k race with a time of 31:11.6.
 
"Chris ran his normal tough race," said Head Coach Gary Gardner. "He started out in the 120s in the first mile and grinded his way up into the top 70. To have back-to-back years as a top-70 runner in the country is outstanding. He's so tough and you could see him fighting the whole way. For the second straight year, he had his best race at the right time, at the NCAA Championships, so you can't ask for much more than that."
 
Cloutier, this year's America East individual champion, was unable to finish the race.
 
"The heat got to Kyle out here and he was unable to finish, but it was great for him to get his first nationals experience out of the way," added Gardner. "I'm sure he'll bounce back this spring."
 
In addition to battling the heat in the long race, the River Hawks and the rest of the 200+ competitors were also facing stiff winds.
 
"It just beats you down," explained the veteran coach. "You could see sections where everyone just stood up fighting the wind. It is really hard over that distance and then having any other barriers like that is difficult."
 
Combined with Kaley Richards on the women's side, the River Hawks had a program-best three runners competing at the Division I championships this year.
 
"This lets all of our student-athletes know they can compete at this level," concluded Gardner. "Our goal next year is absolutely to get both our teams to this championship. That's our goal and I think it's really realistic."