LCC Men’s Cross Country team defended its title to win a third consecutive national championship. The unprecedented effort took place at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Nov. 8.

Cross country is scored by adding the place of each team’s runners; the team with the lowest aggregate score wins. Stars runners were dominant, totaling just 34 points to win by 78 points. LCC’s winning total was the lowest score in Division II since Rend Lake (Ill.) had 23 points in 2003, and LCC’s winning margin was the largest since 2001.

Three LCC runners placed in among the top five finishers. Individual runner-up Nate Carmody was closely followed by teammates Lucas Hopkins in third and Evan Suydam in fifth. Logan Zahn and Quaid Schimetz also scored points for LCC. All five Stars were named to the NJCAA DII All-America Team.

LCC Head Coach Jim Robinson was pleased with how Stars runners pursued excellence. “As long as you’re going to do something, you might as well shoot to do it the best you can,” Robinson said. “Michigan, I think per capita, we have the best distance runners in the country. At LCC, we have champions.”