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 Abdullah Saleh earns All-American honors with an 18th place finish at the NCAA Championships. |
Nov. 22, 2008
The Wayne State University Men's Cross Country team ended the 2008 season with a 12th place finish at the Division II NCAA Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa.
Senior Abdullah Saleh (Dearborn, Mich/Fordson) ran a time of 31:52 ending his four-year WSU cross country career placing 18th. Saleh beat his previous performance at nationals by a little over 25 seconds and earned All-American honors.
Teammates Dan Kapadia (Canton, Mich/Salem) and Sam Breen (Brownstown, Mich./Woodhaven) crossed the finish line together in a time of 32:48. Kapadia was given a 59th place finish while Breen took 60th.
The Warriors lived up to their national 12th-place ranking with the help of Chris Tassen (Troy, Mich/Athens), Kevin deBear (Plymouth, Mich./Salem), Nick Krol (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser) and Pat Webster (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II). Tassen finished 85th with a time of 33:15 while deBear finished one second behind him in 86th. Krol crossed the finish line in 97th (33:31) while Webster finished 107th (33:39).
Quotes from Head Coach Rick Cummins:
"What a great way to cap off two seasons and two careers (Abdullah Saleh and Rachelle Malette). Both teams finishing 12th in the country was incredible. Rachelle and Abdullah finished off two of the best careers in Wayne State history with All-American efforts. These teams worked hard all summer and all fall. They both earned and deserved these results.
Kristi was great. She is just beginning to figure out how good she can be. Dan and Sam were great. Kevin, Chris, Lauren, and Annie all ran very well, too. Allison endured her injury and helped us to a 12th place finish. I know she doesn't feel like she made a difference but look at the results and then figure out where we would be without her. Also, Pat Webster was great today. The results don't show it but he went out and followed the plan and gave us the chance to do what we did. He showed a lot of toughness today.
Abdullah and Rachelle were terrific. They are great kids and just keep plugging away to succeed. We are going to miss their leadership but we are going to enjoy it for a bit longer before we let them go. Two All-American performances. I am so happy for both of them.
What a great day for our team. It was a great year for both our men's and women's cross country programs. I'm very proud to be associated with this program."
