Individual Results
Team Scoring

SAN MARCOS, Calif.— In a highly anticipated rematch between two of the premier men's cross country teams in the NAIA, the fourth-ranked Cougars made  a statement and avenged a prior defeat to second-ranked British Columbia to run away with the 2012 A.I.I. Championship. The Cougars scored 24 to British Columbia's 36, while Ashford and Jamestown tied for third with 107 points.

Three weeks ago in the Santa Clara Invitational, the Cougars fell to the Thunderbirds by a single point, even though they had the faster overall team time. On Saturday, the team left little to doubt in either category, winning on points handily and recording a faster team time by a minute and 30 seconds.

Leading the way up front as usual was two-time All-American Daniel Lyon, who navigated the course in 24 minutes, 18 seconds. For Lyon, it was his second consecutive A.I.I. individual title, as he pulled away from British Columbia's Luc Bruchet over the second half of the 8-kilometer race to win by nine seconds.

Running together for much of the race in third and fourth place were two-time All-American Western Nelson and freshman Steven Ing. The pair finished in 25:07 and 25:15, respectively to put the pressure on British Columbia. Fellow freshman Michael Hewitt (25:30) held off two challengers over the final lap around the track to effectively seal the victory for San Marcos. Lyon, Nelson, Ing, and Hewitt were each awarded first-team All-Conference honors for their performances.

Nate Avalos (26:05) closed out the scoring for Cal State San Marcos with his 11th place finish, while Eric Brockhoff (13^th, 26:11) and Deng Akuien (14^th, 26:14) were not far behind to displace scorers from other teams.

Cal State San Marcos has now won all five A.I.I. Championships since the creation of the conference in 2008. The reigning national runner-up Cougars will look to carry their momentum into the NAIA National Championships on Saturday, November 17 in Fort Vancouver, Wash.