Cross Country | 11/23/2024 5:20:00 PM

Terre Haute, Indiana - Oberlin College men's cross country senior Walter Moak capped off a triumphant season with a strong finish at today's NCAA Division III National Championships. The All-American steeplechaser finished 144^th of 294 in the 8,000m race, running his fastest-ever time on the storied LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course (25:27.1). 
 
Moak burst out of his starting box, running the fastest opening kilometer of his life on the wet and muddy course. "I flew a bit too close to the sun in the first kilometer, which hurt me later in the race," Moak said. "I'm glad I took that risk, even though it didn't pay off how I wanted."
 
In today's race, Moak bettered his national finish from two years ago by 110 places. This was Moak's third nationals appearance, as he also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships last May.
 
"Walter had an incredible season," Head Cross Country Coach Izzy Alexander said. "Due to injury, he missed two races and a month of running, but he absolutely made the most of each race opportunity."
 
"I'm looking forward to returning to the track," Moak said. "Despite getting injured this fall, I'm in the best aerobic shape of my life. With more miles under my legs, I'm sure I'll drop my track times by a lot."
 
Moak will take some well-deserved time off and return to competition for the indoor track season in January. The rest of the men's and women's track and field teams will kick off their season when they head to Case Western for the Spartan Alumni Meet on Saturday, December 7.
 
Fans can watch all the home matches live online. Home contests can be accessed on a TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.