WTAMU runner William Amponsah wins second straight NCAA Division II national title, Lady Buffs finish second

West Texas A&M’s William Amponsah carried on his tremendous career for the Buffs while standing tall once again atop the Division II cross country mountain as the senior claimed his second straight NCAA Division II Cross Country national championship on Saturday afternoon at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, CA.

The Agona Swedru, Ghana native ran a time of 29:40.8 over the 10K course to pick up a 5.1 second victory over Ryan Hartman of Augustana (29:45.9). Amponsah becomes the 14th runner in Division II history to win multiple individual crowns and the first since Tabor Stevens of Adams State in 2013 and 2014.

West Texas A&M becomes the 13th program in Division II history to have multiple individual national champions.

As a team, WTAMU took fourth-place overall for the second straight year. Three runners placed inside the top 10 for a total of 138 points, the lowest point total in program history at the NCAA Championships.

On top of Amponsah national title, teammate Harry Louradour crossed the finish line in fifth with a time of 29:48.4 followed by Friona graduate Adrian Legarreta in 10th (29:55.3).

Colorado School of Mines claimed its fourth national championship with a team total of 63 points.

The West Texas A&M women’s cross-country team was able to find the medal stand putting together an impressive performance on Saturday afternoon as they finished second overall.

The second-place finish by the Lady Buffs is the best in program history with a total of 127 points.

Four Lady Buffs earned All-America honors by finishing inside of the Top-40.

Julie Lafare led the way as the junior from Uzes, France crossed the finish line in 17th place with a time of 21:03.1 followed by Naomi Addo (21st, 21:07.4), Kalkidan Vincendeau (26th, 21:09.2) and Eliette Chaput (30th, 21:16.5).

Adams State won their 21st National Crown with a team total of 61 points followed by WT (127 points).