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MANSFIELD, Pa. (Nov. 19) – Redshirt freshman Jonathan Thrush (Temple, Pa./Muhlenberg) earned an individual qualifier for the NCAA National Championships on Saturday afternoon, as the California (PA) men's cross country team registered its best finish at the NCAA Regional Championships since the 2014 campaign.

The Vulcans finished seventh in the team standings with 193 points after placing 16th at the regional championships last fall. Cal posted its third-best performance in program history at the event, as it finished sixth in 2013 and fifth in 2014. Charleston (W.Va.) earned its fourth-consecutive regional crown with 33 points after four runners placed in the top 10. Edinboro finished second in the team standings with 47 points, while Concord placed third at the regional event with 104 points.

Thrush placed sixth overall in a field of nearly 165 entries with a time of 29 minutes, 35.8 seconds. He earned one of the two individual qualifiers for the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, as Cal features a qualifier for the national race for the first time since 2014. Thrush, who was making his first career appearance at the NCAA Regional Championships, ranked among the top 15 in field at each of the marker splits and finished the 10-kilometer race with an average split of 5:12.9.

Senior Mason Jobe (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) finished second on the team and 35th overall after crossing the finish line in 30:38.8. He placed among the top 40 at the event for a consecutive season, as he finished 34th overall at the regional championships in 2021. Junior Noah Bernarding (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) posted the best finish of his career at the regional race, finishing in 40th place with a time of 30:43.5.

Sophomore Ian Zimmerman (Bedford, Pa./Northern Bedford County) registered a time of 31:18.5 to place 52nd overall, while freshman Kolby Kent (Roscoe, Pa./California) rounded out the team scorers at the championships in 70th place with a time of 31:19.4.

Freshmen Bill Folmer (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Amin Contreras (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) both also competed at the event on Saturday. Folmer crossed the finish line in 35:04.1 and Contreras posted a time of 35:04.7.

Concord senior Isaac Prather captured the individual regional title for a second-straight year with a time of 29:25.0, winning the race by nearly 40 seconds.

Thrush will compete in two weeks at the NCAA National Championships on Dec. 2 in University Place, Washington. The cross country championships are part of the NCAA Division II Fall Festival hosted in Seattle, Washington.