Davis Completes Campaign at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Saturday, November 23

Madison, WI

Army West Point

NCAA Championships

Davis Completes Campaign at NCAA Cross Country Championships

November 23, 2024 | Men's Cross Country

WEST POINT, NY - Army West Point men's cross country junior Nathan Davis wrapped up the season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships from Verona, Wisconsin on Saturday morning.

Davis placed 199th in the 10K race with a time of 30:46.20 from the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Championship Course. Harvard's Graham Blanks won the individual title wth a mark of 28:37.2 as BYU claimed the team title.

FULL RESULTS

It concludes a breakout season from the cow for the Black Knights, who was the first male runner in four seasons to qualify for the NCAA meet after a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regionals.

Davis will shift his focus to the indoor season which saw him place fifth in the Patriot League in 2023-24 in the 3000M.

Hear from Coach Smith:
"It took me some time to find Nathan after his race today at the NCAA championship. There were thousands of people milling about the course and it was no easy task connecting with athletes in the post finish area so I just waited on the course where I thought for sure that we could cross paths. When I first saw him, he was walking slowly toward me headed toward the team area. His head was down, and his body language spoke of his disappointment. He had just finished 199th in the best cross-country race in the world. It was a humbling experience. But that is what this meet is. If you are off on the day or lose focus mid race, you can very easily get pushed back and never recover. The race plan we discussed was for him to settle into the top 100 at the 2K and then try to work up from there. In the first kilometer, he got out into the race and was in a comfortable spot. At 2k he was 94th and only 5 seconds off the front of the race. As he ran by us at 2k he looked just fine. But as the race progressed to the halfway point, he was giving up places and it became clear that he wasn't having a good day. He finished strong and competed with guys around him all the way to the line. But in the end, he had higher hopes. Today was the first time Nathan had ever been in this type of environment. I thought he handled himself well. He wasn't intimidated and he had realistic expectations, but he just wasn't good enough. Standing out there on the course, after a few minutes of discussion and reflection, Nathan's disappointment shifted toward the future, "I've got a lot of work to do. I need to get better". That comment told me all that I need to know. Sometimes you need to experience a painful defeat to fully understand what it takes to get to the top. He will be just fine." Director of Track & Field Mike Smith.