St. Leo, Florida - The Grand Valley State men's cross country claimed their second NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championship on Saturday, Nov 20. with Isaac Harding finishing first overall! Harding strategically stayed near the front of the pack for the entire race, making his way from seventh at the 3k to third at the 6.7k. The final 1k was between Harding and teammate Tanner Chada. Harding ultimately won the race with a personal-best time of 29:58.3 followed by Chada with a time of 30:07.1. Harding was crown the NCAA DII Cross Country National Champion and Chada the National Runner-Up. The GVSU men's team won with a score of 43 points, second place Adams State with 84, and third place Colorado Mines scoring 123. 

Along with Harding and Chada, Andrew Hylen scored within the top 15 scoring 10th with a personal-best time of 30:45.7. Enael Woldemichael ran a personal-best time of 30:48.9 scoring 12th, and Jacob Lee scored 18th with a time of 30:59.5. The five scoring Laker men were award USFTCAA All-American honors for finsihing within the top 40. 

"It was a great day down here in the Tampa area after having a year off last year its great to back in National setting," said Head Coach Jerry Baltes. "We raced incredible today, going first and second in the individual races and the women finishing runner-up and the men capturing the title." 

On the women's side, Hannah Becker won the individual National Championship crown running a personal-best time of 20:22.0 in the 6k. Klaudia O'Malley finished as the National Runner-Up with a personal-best time of 20:26.9. Both women slowly worked their way up from being in the mid 30 at the 1.3k, to ninth and 10th at the 3k. The women took the race over at the 4.3k mark and never looked back as they maintained their lead throughout the rest of the race. 

"It was great race on the women's side, our women ran great going 1-2, said Coach Baltes. "Chapko, Graber, Rypma battled really tough, Karpukhno was great as always, and Fuerst stepped in and had a great effort! Our athletes trusted in each other and believed in themselves, and they followed an execution from start to finish." 

Taryn Chapko also made the top 15, scoring 13th with a personal-best time 21:00.3. The three women were recognized by the NCAA for finishing within the top 15. Rounding out the teams score, Natalie Graber scored 31st with a time of  21:23.9 and Kayce Rympa scored 32nd with a time of 21:25.2. The women's teams scored 79 points and earned the NCAA DII National Runner-Up title. Adams State took first with 59 points, and Augustana S.D. third with 118. 

For the first time in NCAA DII Championship history, the top two runners on both the men's and women's team were from the same school. 

NCAA DII - National Championships 
St. Leo, Florida 
Nov. 20, 2021 -

Top 5 Teams - Men - Final Results (pdf) 
1. Grand Valley St. - 43 points
2. Adams State - 84
3. Colorado Mines - 123
4. Augustana S.D. - 222
5. UC - Colorado Springs - 254

GVSU Men
1. Isaac Harding - 29:58.3 *PR* **Men's National Cross Country Champion, All-American**
2. Tanner Chada - 30:07.1 **Men's National Cross Country Runner-Up, All-American**
12(10). Andrew Hylen - 30:45.7 *PR* **All-American** 
14(12). Enael Woldemichael - 30:48.9 *PR* **All-American**
21 (18). Jacob Lee - 30:59.5 **All-American**
46. Caleb Futter - 31:40.6
77. Jesse Becker - 32:13.4

Top 5 Teams - Women - Final Results (pdf) 
1. Adams State - 59 points
2. Grand Valley St. - 79
3. Augustana S.D. - 118
4. Colorado Mines - 197
5. Wingate - 208 

GVSU Women
1. Hannah Becker - 20:22.0 *PR* **Women's National Cross Country Champion, All-American** 
2. Klaudia O'Malley - 20:26.9 *PR* **Women's National Cross Country Runner-Up, All-American** 
14 (13).Taryn Chapko - 21:00.3 *PR* **All-American** 
35 (31). Natalie Graber - 21:23.9 **All-American**
36 (32). Kayce Rypma - 21:25.2 **All-American**
43. Lucy Karpukhno - 21:29.8
86. Morgan Fuerst - 22:02.7