Led by two-time individual champion James Settles, the Colorado College men's cross country team captured its fifth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title Saturday morning in Seguin, Texas.
 
The Tigers captured five of the top eight individual spots and seven runners finished in the top 14 to earn all-conference honors.
 
Colorado College finished with 24 points, followed by Trinity University with 33 and the University of St. Thomas with 94. CC is the first team to win five straight team titles since DePauw won seven from 2000-06.   
 
Settles, a senior from Claremont, Calif., won his second straight title with a time of 25:01.03, the third-fastest time in SCAC Championship Meet history. He finished six seconds ahead of runner-up and fellow senior Devlin Swanson (25:07.85).
 
Settles, the SCAC Newcomer of the Year three years ago as a freshman, finished second as a sophomore and was named this year's recipient of the league's Elite 19 award, which recognizes the all-conference performer with the best grade-point average, for the second straight year. He has a 4.0 GPA majoring in computer science.
 
"It was a little soupy out there but Devlin and I battled the elements together for a 1-2 victory," Settles said. "It is always a pleasure to run with Devlin. He talks to me during the race and I appreciate that. The team put some good work in on a sloppy course. And for that I am proud."
 
Freshman Will Shuflit finished sixth in 26:15.97 to earn Newcomer of the Year honors, followed by junior Brett Kitazono in seventh with a time of 26:22.87 and senior Ayden Cherry in eighth in 26:29.24.
 
Junior Dominic Schwein (11^th/26:49.88) and sophomore Rabbit Barnes (13^th/26.59.41) rounded out the all-conference runners for the Tigers.
 
"I am very proud of how the men's team performed at the championship," head coach Alex Nichols said. "It was a warm day, but they did a great job sticking to the plan and working as a team. It was an amazing team effort to bring home another SCAC trophy. We're already looking forward to the regional championship in two weeks."
 
The Tigers return to action at the NCAA Division III West Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 11, in Riverside, Calif.
 
2023 SCAC Men's Cross Country Team Results
1. Colorado College – 24
2. Trinity University – 33
3. University of St. Thomas - 94
4. Southwestern University – 104
5. Texas Lutheran University – 139
6. Schreiner University – 181                    
7. University of Dallas - 184

2022 Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team
1. James Settles, Colorado College - 25:01.03 (SCAC Runner of the Year)
2. Devlin Swanson, Colorado College – 25:07.85
3. Will Salony, Trinity University – 26:01.55
4. Diego Flores, Trinity University – 26:03.15
5. Ben Whittemore, Trinity University - 26:07.37
6. Will Shuflit, Colorado College - 26:15.97 (Newcomer of the Year)
7. Brett Kitazono, Colorado College – 26:22.87
8. Ayden Cherry, Colorado College – 26:29.24
9. Nathaniel Trevino, Trinity University – 26:31.55
10. Jhancarlos Carpio, Univ. of St. Thomas – 26:43.48
11. Dominic Schwein, Colorado College - 26:49.88
12. Eli Karg, Trinity University – 26:52.38
13. Rabbit Barnes, Colorado College - 26:59.41
14. James Urbina, Univ. of St. Thomas – 27:02.07
 

Additional CC Individual Results
16. Ethan Castette – 27:09.80
17. Luc Santos – 27:09.89
21. Walt Jones – 27:26.39
24. Liam Mullen – 27:36.56
27. Eric Coombs – 27:47.74
31. Huck Whittemore – 28:13.95
32. James Lyons – 28:20.75
34. Parker Libby – 28:27.73
36. Felix Battle – 28:28.11
43. Connor Clarkson – 28:56.69
49. Mack Levy – 29:25.56