Three speedy Nighthawks made the journey up to chilly Billings, Montana last Saturday for the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships. Morgan Erler, Brody Kemble, and Quincy Ellis braved the snow and wind and competed against athletes from 25 other teams across the West.
Morgan Erler had an interesting experience running in adverse conditions in the first regional meet of her college career.
"The race was tough," Erler said about the 6k women's race. "It was pretty cold outside with 20+ mile per hour winds."
"The runners were competitive, and for around the first mile, we were all running shoulder to shoulder. It was a hard but really fun race to be a part of," mentioned the standout freshman.
"Brody and Quincy did really well, and I think we are all excited to improve even more for next season!"
Erler crossed the line for the 6k race in 22:39.9. She ends her freshman cross country season at NNU with a spot on the NNU Top 10 All-Time list — a great reflection of the hard work she's put in the past few months.
Brody Kemble also had a fantastic freshman season this year.
"It was really cool to race at that next level race like this one. There's just a different level of excitement that you get at the Regional Championships," explained Kemble.
"It was pretty cold, but the race still ended up being pretty fast.
"Quincy and Morgan did great — I'm really proud of them and how they really showed up for the big race.
"Overall, it was a good season, and I'm really excited to see where this team goes in the next few years," said Kemble.
Kemble completed his first-ever 10k race in 32:13.09 — only falling short of the NNU Top 10 All-Time list by a few seconds.
"This was Brody's first ever 10k of any kind, and to have his first one be a cross country race in frigid temperatures and driving wind and still come away with a time that's about 5 seconds away from the NNU All-Time Top 10 list is really impressive," said Assistant Cross Country Coach Greg Mitchell.
Quincy Ellis had some great things to say about his 10k race, which he finished shortly after his teammate in 32:45.03.
"The competition was really good! There were teams from all over the West, and everyone was competing at a high level," said Ellis.
"It was really cool to race in a big meet like this one because you get to test your skills against people that you don't normally get to compete against.
"The other two ran really well, especially for being freshmen. Brody almost made it onto the All-Time list in his first 10k ever, and Morgan was up in the top 50% of her race," mentioned Ellis.
"One thing that I took away from this season was that hard work pays off. You just need to trust the process, trust your coach, and everything else will work itself out."
Ellis, one of the few upperclassmen on the team, has been an important leader for the young group this season.
Coach Mitchell was impressed with his runner's achievements at the Regional meet.
"I'm very proud of the way Morgan, Brody, and Quincy performed," said Mitchell.
"They all stuck their noses in there against very deep, very talented fields in really difficult conditions and ran strong races. All three crossed the finish line completely spent, which is really all you can ask for."
Greg Mitchell's first season as the Nighthawk's Assistant Cross Country Coach has come to an end with a lot learned and many things to look forward to in the coming years. Building the foundation for an excellent team is not easy, and Mitchell has taken every challenge in stride to prove that the program is in very capable hands.
After a little break, the distance runners will be transitioning to indoor track and field — kicking off the season with the BYU Invite on December 8th-10th in Provo, Utah.
