Senior Matt Avery (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili) qualified for the NCAA Division III National Cross Country championships with a 13th place finish during Saturday’s NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional Championships. Avery is The College at Brockport’s Male Athlete of the Week.
Avery finished the 8K course at Oneonta’s Fortin Park in 25 minutes, 10.7 seconds on Saturday to qualify for his first national championship meet. Avery, who earlier this fall broke John Trowse Sr.’s 22-year-old Brockport school record for the 8K race, finished 43 seconds off the leader at regionals. But thanks to his finish, Avery earned a spot in the national meet, which will occur Nov. 20 in Waverly, Iowa.
His time was just six seconds shy of his school record, and was the third-fastest 8K time in Brockport history. Avery’s strong performance helped the Golden Eagles men finish 11th as a team out of 39 squads competing at regionals.
