Villanova's Tiernan wins national championship in men's cross country
VIllanova senior Patrick Tiernan, a native of Australia, won the NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country individual championship Saturday at Terre Haute, Ind.
Senior Patrick Tiernan of Villanova won the individual championship in the NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championships Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind., running a time of 29 minutes, 22.0 seconds on a 10,000-meter course.
With the victory, Tiernan, who ran in the Rio Olympics for Australia, broke the streak of Oregon's Edward Cheserek, who had been seeking his fourth consecutive individual men's championship. Cheserek finished third in 29:48.0, behind runnerup Justyn Knight of Syracuse (29:27.3).
Tiernan, who finished second to Cheserek last year, pulled away from Knight in the final 1,000 meters.
Tiernan's victory capped a sensational post-season of racing. He won his fourth consecutive Big East individual championship, followed by his third title in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional last weekend.
--Joe Juliano