SSU men overachieve again with 12th place finish in NAIA National Championships; Kammler, Little named NAIA AAs
For the sixth consecutive season, the Shawnee State men's cross country program scored a finish inside the top-20 overall at the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships with Aiden Kammler's 14th place time of 25:13.4 and Shawn Little's 28th place showing of 25:30.6 allowing both individuals to collect NAIA All-American honors for the SSU brigade and lead SSU to a 12th place showing at the 68th Annual Men's Cross Country National Championships Friday afternoon in Vancouver, Wash.
By virtue of their accomplishments, the Bears were able to put two runners in NAIA All-American status for the third time in four seasons. The SSU men's cross country program has also had at least one NAIA All-American runner in each out of the last six seasons in all dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Kammler hits history
Having finished no worse than 31st in the NAIA National Championship Meet over the past three seasons, Aiden Kammler officially made history with his performance Friday afternoon.
After finishing an exceptional 12th in 2022, Kammler stormed his way from the mid 20s in the running order all the way to a 14th place finish in 2023 by running a 25:13.4 to earn his third consecutive NAIA All-American accolade in cross country.
By doing so, Kammler -- out of all of the great runners who have come before him -- is the first-ever Shawnee State men's cross country runner to notch the celebrated honor across three separate seasons. Kammler also got some getback in the form of bettering Rio Grande runner and River States Conference Champion Tyler Jenkins -- whom Kammler bettered by over 10 seconds in the final finishing order as Jenkins finished 23rd with a time of 25:23.6.
Little heading toward big things
In his first year inside the Shawnee State men's cross country umbrella, Shawn Little sped his way toward the front of the large 328-runner pack -- and stayed toward the front throughout the 8K race, finishing 28th to join Kammler in obtaining NAIA All-America honors.
Not wanting to be left out in terms of athletic accomplishments, Little's 28th place finish at the NAIA National Championships is the highest-ever finish for a Shawnee State freshman men's cross country runner. Little was as high as fifth through a quarter of the race and stayed at or near the front of the race for the duration of the event.
Promise abound through SSU lineup
Beyond the main duo, Kaiden Lanoy's 93rd-place showing represented yet another outstanding run as the freshman from Lancaster, Ohio posted a 26:13.1, while Kaiden's brother, Trevor Lanoy -- yet another talented freshman -- finished 166th with a 26:45.5. Valley graduate Alex Morris' 26:54.1 put the junior in 179th place overall, while Ironton's Logan Boggs and his 220th place run (27:12.4) and Dylan French's 236th place finish (27:22.4) rounded out the competitors for Shawnee State in the event.
For more information on the Shawnee State men's cross country program and Friday's performance, check back soon at this story link.
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