Senior Ian McVey earns All-America honors for second consecutive season with 5th place finish at NCAA III Men's Cross Country Championships
By Tim Glon
WINNECONNE, Wis. — Senior All-American Ian McVey (Stow/Munroe Falls) earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season by finishing fifth out of 280 runners in 24:37 at the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships on a cold Saturday afternoon at Lake Breeze Golf Course.
McVey posted his second consecutive top-10 finish at the championships, as he was 10th in 24:37 as a junior in 2017.
The top 40 runners earn All-America honors.
McVey is now a two-time All-American, a two-time NCAA Great Regional and Ohio Athletic Conference champion and a four-time All-Region and All-OAC honoree.
He entered the Championships meet undefeated against NCAA Division III runners this season and through 5.6 kilometers of the 8,000-meter race McVey was in a position to keep that streak alive.
He led the field through the 5.6k mark, but fell to fourth place with 900 meters to go.
"My plan was to go the front and try to stay there," McVey said. "I felt great throughout the race and when the pack moved I went with it. The guys I was running with at the end are really good so I'm very happy with my race."
"Ian ran a great race and we are so proud of his performance today," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "He was in the lead late in the race and had a legitimate shot at winning it. He ended his cross country career as the best runner we've had at ONU in 40 years."
McVey's fifth place finish is the highest finish by an Ohio Northern runners since Mike Becraft's school-record second place finish in 1978.
