Zach Ripley of Cornestone University ran the race of his career at the 2009 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, earning a sixth-place finish and All-America honors. In all, 323 participants ran in the men's championships. In the team competition, Aquinas College finished seventh out of 32 teams.

Ripley crossed the finish line in a time of 25:17 for the 8k race and was the first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) runner to finish. Ripley's time bested his finish at the WHAC championships by 35 seconds.

Jesiah Rodriquez of Siena Heights University was the only other WHAC runner in the top 50 as he finished 35th in a time of 25:57.

Aquinas placed seventh overall with a combined time of 2:11:46. Cornerstone finished 23rd with a combined time of 2:14:03. 

WHAC results:   

6 - Zach Ripley, Cornerstone, 25:17

35 - Jesiah Rodriquez, Siena Heights, 25:57

51 - Mike Gravellyn, Aquinas, 26:07

52 - Dustin Heiler, Aquinas, 26:08

68 - Mike Morgan, Aquinas, 26:19

83 - Robert Veldman, Aquinas, 16:26

115 - Mike Glinski, Siena Heights 26:38

118 - Andrew Hawks, Davenport 26:40

134 - Kolin Stickney, Aquinas 26:46

167 - Billy Carl, Cornerstone, 27:04

218 - Stephan Larson, Cornerstone, 27:35

234 - Jared Courtright, Cornerstone, 27:46

239 - Adam Looman, Cornerstone, 27:49

265 - Travis Mabe, Cornerstone, 28:22

315 - Alex Stoltie, Indiana Tech, 31:02

View complete men's results  |  View team scores