SAINT LEO, Fla. (November 19^th, 2016) -- A late kick in the final two kilometers propelled the Adams State University men to their 12^th NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday morning from The Abbey Course.

The Grizzlies trailed only Grand Valley State University at the 8.8K checkpoint but gained traction down the home stretch to surpass the Lakers at the 10K finish line. The late burst produced a winning score of 54 with the Lakers coming in second at 79.

The hardware is the 12^th title for ASU since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1992. It serves as the program's 24^th overall national championship (NAIA). Furthermore, it's now the 51^st national title combined between the ASU cross country and track & field programs.

The ASU men have now won seven cross country titles in the past nine seasons. Saturday's win now gives Damon Martin nine titles as a men's cross country coach.
 
Adams State climbed to the top of the leaderboard with strong finishes from their 3 through 5 runners in Lucio Ramirez, Kale Adams, and Chandler Reid. The aforementioned trio improved their placing in the final kilometer to beat their Grand Valley counterpart. The biggest shift came from Reid as ASU's fifth runner who jumped from 29^th at the 8.8K mark to 25^th at the finish line. Meanwhile, the Lakers fifth runner dropped from 17^th to 43^rd in the same span.

"I'm extremely proud of the young men who ran today. They've had some hard battles and worked all year with the goal of bringing a national title back to Alamosa." Said head coach Damon Martin, "Last year we fell short and they really wanted to rectify the ship. Today you could see the determination in their faces. With a kilometer to go we were a little behind but moving forward they won every little battle. They all passed two or three people and it made all the difference in the word."

The championship charge was led by Sydney Gidabuday who closed out a sensational sophomore campaign with a fourth place finish of 29.56.8. Gidabuday concluded Saturday with a 4:50 mile pace. He finished 6^th overall last season as a freshman. He was one of six runners to earn All-American status for the ASU men.

"It was tough here and there for the individuals, but, as a team we ran how we wanted to all season." Gidabuday said following the race.

Kyle Masterson closed his collegiate career with a strong 8^th place mark of 30:35.6. Masterson steadily climbed into the top 10 throughout the race. At the 1.3K checkpoint, he was positioned 39^th overall but kept improving his position with each checkpoint that followed.

"He has really overcome a lot of adversity the last few years. When he was a sophomore he was 18^th at the national meet." Martin said of Masterson, "Since then he's had two different knee surgeries. But what a whale of a race he ran today."

Ramirez and Adams also finished strong and registered points for the Grizzlies on Saturday. As ASU's third runner, Ramirez checked in at 80^th at the first checkpoint but crossed the finish line for 9^th with a time of 30:36.0. Ramirez – a junior college transfer – made his way to Adams State after running at Orange Coast College for former Adams State All-American runner, Marco Ochoa.

Adams initially checked in at 35^th early on but claimed 17^th overall at 30:47.8. Reid concluded the ASU scoring as the fifth runner with a time of 31:03.4 for 25^th.

Rounding out the ASU field for the men were Joshua Joseph (31:14.0) in 37^th and Jackson Sayler (35:01.0) in 230^th.

The Grizzlies showed their depth as Adams and Joseph registered two of the top three times by a freshman at the championships.

"This is a championship won by a team of believers. We lost conference and regionals but we had faith in Coach Martin's plan and our ability to come through on the big stage. We did a lot to change our culture this year and it's made a big difference from our first to our last guy." Masterson said of his team's performance. "Today was the biggest battle we've been in. We were losing going into the last 1,000 meters. We attacked that last 1K with a lot of heart. I'm so proud of every guy on this team, from the first to the 40^th. We are proud to bring a title back to Alamosa."

The ASU men tallied a team average of 30:36.0 and a total time of 152:59.6. The Grizzlies concluded the meet with a spread of 1:06.6.

The ASU women concluded their dominate 2016 season with a runner-up score of 139 as Grand Valley took first at 116. The Grizzlies opened strong and held the team lead at the 1.3K checkpoint. However, the Lakers would push ahead moving forward to take the title.

"It goes to show you how strong our women's program is. I honestly think we had a lot of kids struggle today. It wasn't what we had hoped for but even with struggling they were able to finish second and gave a battle to win it. I'm proud of them. Grand Valley ran really well today; they brought it." Martin said of the ASU women on Saturday.

Aden Alemu was the first Grizzly to finish at 21:09.6 to place 20^th overall. Rachel Kresl soon followed for 32^nd at 21:18.3. Jenna Thurman ended her cross country season in 38^th with an official 6K time of 21:29.5.

Malena Grover (21:38.8) and Grace Tinkey (21:39.1) finished back-to-back for 44^th and 45th place, respectively, to round out scoring production for ASU at the championships.

Kaylee Bogina (22:08.8) and Eilish Flanagan (22:44.5) were the last two Grizzlies to cross the finish line for 80^th and 137^th place, respectively.

"Everything that could go wrong for me today did." Thurman said after the race, "I am just so proud of my teammates. We fought hard and I couldn't have a better and more caring group of girls to run with. My coaches have been amazing and we can't wait to get back after it."

The ASU women tallied a team average of 21:27.1 and a total time of 107:15.3. The Grizzlies concluded the meet with a spread of 0:29.5.

Despite falling short of a national championship on Saturday, the ASU women shined throughout the season with five team titles. The Grizzlies entered the NCAA DII Championships after notable team titles at the RMAC Championships and South Central Regionals.

For any future updates on Adams State cross country, stay connected with www.asugrizzlies.com