Dalton grad heads to national cross country meet with Mount Union team
PHOTOS FROM WWW.ATHLETICS.MOUNTUNION.EDU
DGKN staff
Mason Kutz, a Mount Union junior and 2020 Dalton High School graduate, is heading to the national cross country meet.
For the first time since 2014, both of Mount Union’s men’s and women’s cross country teams received bids to the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
According to an article by Casey Kropka on the Mount Union athletics website, the Mount Union men’s cross country team finished 10th overall at the Connecticut College Invite last month to complete their regular season. Kutz finished in the top seven with a time of 26:39.7. Mount Union beat No. 28th-nationally ranked NYU. The Raiders headed into postseason and finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Muskingum in New Concord, Ohio, Oct. 29.
The team placed third at the 2022 Great Lakes Cross Country Regional Nov. 12 at Three Fires Golf Club in Holland, Mich. Kutz placed 40th with a time of 25:12.6.
Mount Union’s men and women’s cross country team will compete in the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich., the article states at athletics.mountunion.edu.
The Purple Raiders will be making its 22nd appearance at the national meet. The team won the 1974 NCAA Division III National title.
Senior Jeff Joseph (Beloit / West Branch) and junior Vincent Giumenti (Dover) led the Purple Raiders this weekend finishing 9th and 11th. Both gentlemen qualified to last year’s cross country championship. Joseph will be making his third trip to the national meet as he qualified to the national meet his freshman year, the article states.
Kutz, a financial mathematics major, joins seniors Hunter Probert (Gnadenhutten / Indian Valley), Forrest Long (Geneva), sophomore Nick Wong (Akron / Hoban) and freshman Stephan Ulrich (Louisville) in making their first appearance.
At Dalton, Kutz, son of Greg and Linda Kutz, was a two-time state qualifier in cross country and a state qualifier in track in 4×800.
In the 2020-21 track season at Mount Union he was named the OAC Champion 4×800 relay at the OAC Outdoor Championships. He placed third in the Distance Medley Relay at the OAC Indoor Championships and 8th place in 800.
Last year during the cross country season, he placed 76th at the Great Lakes Regional and 47th at the OAC Championships.
The women earned their spot to the national meet with a fourth place finish in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet.
Mount Union’s women team will be making its fourth appearance at the national meet with the best performance being 24th at the 2001 national meet.
Senior Brit McCauley (Ontario) led the Raiders with an 11th place. McCauley will be making her second appearance as she qualified last year to the national meet.
Seniors Megan Wertz (Canton / GlenOak), Angela DeFabio (Twinsburg), juniors Erin Smith (Dover), Gia Venuto (Ravenna / Southeast), Adriana Russell (Mansfield / Madison) and sophomore Jasmine Arnold (Cadiz / Harrison Central) all make their first cross country national meet experiences.
(Do you have a story idea you would like to share about a high school graduate from Dalton or other area schools? We’re happy to tout your student’s success! Email thedaltongazette@gmail.com)
