CDT Nathan Davis ’26 of Army West Point Men’s Cross Country wrapped up the season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on November 24. Davis placed 199th in the 10K race with a time of 30:46.20 from the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Championship Course. Harvard’s Graham Blanks won the individual title with a mark of 28:37.2 as BYU claimed the team title.
It concludes a breakout season from Davis for the Black Knights, who was the first male runner in four seasons to qualify for the NCAA meet after a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regionals. Davis will shift his focus to the indoor season, which saw him place fifth in the Patriot League in 2023-24 in the 3000M.
“It took me some time to find Nathan after his race today at the NCAA championship … when I first saw him, he was walking slowly toward me headed toward the team area,” Army West Point Director of Track & Field Mike Smith. “His head was down, and his body language spoke of his disappointment. He had just finished 199th in the best cross-country race in the world. It was a humbling experience.
“Today was the first time Nathan had ever been in this type of environment. I thought he handled himself well,” Smith added. “He wasn’t intimidated, and he had realistic expectations, but he just wasn’t good enough. Standing out there on the course, after a few minutes of discussion and reflection, Nathan’s disappointment shifted toward the future, ‘I’ve got a lot of work to do. I need to get better.’ That comment told me all that I need to know. Sometimes you need to experience a painful defeat to fully understand what it takes to get to the top. He will be just fine.”
Excerpt and image taken from https://www.westpoint.edu/.
