M. X-C seniors finish in top half at NCAA meet

Scott Clayton claimed 69th place and Sean Mac Millan finished 122nd at nationals. Penn co-captains Scott Clayton and Sean MacMillan closed out their Penn cross country careers yesterday with impressive performances at the NCAA national championships at Indiana University. Clayton placed 69th in the 254-man field with a time of 31 minutes, 46.10 seconds, while MacMillan finished 122nd at 32:21.40. Both secured spots in the nationals when they posted two of the three top individual scores needed for at-large national berths at the NCAA District II regionals at Lehigh University on November 13. Both Clayton and MacMillan said they got off to a good start as they headed toward the front of the middle group, keeping pace during the opening 5k with runners from Georgetown and Villanova whom they competed against at districts. But in the second half of the race, Clayton pulled away to become the third Ivy League participant to cross the finish line. "[Nationals] was altogether on a different level -- something I was not used to," Clayton said, noting how he had to battle for position among the other elite runners in the tightly packed field. "It was the kind of race where you keep moving because if you fall behind, you'll never catch up," Macmillan added. Arkansas captured the team title with an average time of 30:44.64, with Wisconsin, N.C. State, Stanford and Michigan rounding out the top five finishing teams. South Alabama freshman David Kimani had the fastest time overall (30:06.60). And Paul Morrison was the top finisher from the Ivy League, placing eighth with a time of 32:42.50. Daily Pennsylvanian sports writer Jeremy Dubert contributed to this article.