Hudson, Kemple earn All-American honors

Anderson University’s Sean Hudson and Gwen Kemple were both named All-Americans on Saturday at the NCAA Div. III National Championships in St. Olaf, Minn.

Hudson finished 11th in the race in a time of 24:55 while Kemple was 33rd in 22:08. The top 35 runners are named All-Americans.

“I was so proud of Sean and his effort out there,” said AU coach Scott Wilson. “To get 11th at Nationals is outstanding. He was aggressive, but controlled throughout the race. His goal was to get in the top 15 and he was in that position at about the 2K mark and just kept battling. This was the best cross country race I have seen him run.”

Hudson became the 11th AU runner to be named an All-American and his place was the best in school history at the NCAA national meet. It tied AU Hall of Famer Frank Runion for second best individual finish overall, including NAIA national meets. Brian Williams is the top individual with a pair of fifth place finishes at the NAIA national meet.

The AU men’s team finished 31st overall out of 32 teams. Other finishers for the Ravens were Matt Ingalls (146th, 26:19), Matt Helm (173rd, 26:34), Dan DeYoung (182nd, 26:44), Troy Pryor (187th, 26:49), Tony Pryor (221st, 28:12) and Kyle Schmidt (223rd, 28:42).

“Thirty-first at Nationals is about where we are,” said Wilson. “They put the effort out there, but the competition at Nationals is just exceptional. They can be very proud of their season and running at Nationals. With over 400 Div. III schools in the country to make it to the national meet is a great accomplishment. Additionally, experiencing this meet will really help motivate our younger runners.”

Kemple became the sixth Raven female to be named an All-American. The last All-American from AU was Lisa Nicholson in 2002.

“Gwen accomplished her year long goal to be All-American,” said Wilson. “She put herself in position (top 35) early in the race and just ran with all her heart to the finish. Just to make nationals is difficult, but then to make All-American is outstanding. I am very proud of her.”

For complete results from the meet go to http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/crossctry/men/

For more pictures from the 2007 NCAA Div. III National Cross Country Championships go to: http://www.eliterunning.com/photos/index.php?g2_itemId=112767