SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Cian Monaghan brought his college cross country career to a speedy finish on Saturday, racing to 49th place at the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
The University of Puget Sound senior completed his 8 kilometers at Milliken Research Park in 24 minutes, 49.9 seconds.
 
That was just the second time that he has broken the 25-minute mark. He clocked 24:14.1 at the Linfield George Oja Invitational on Oct. 18 in McMinnville, Oregon.
 
Monaghan had hoped to get out to a fast start, and he did, coming through the first kilometer in 2:44.3. He was on the lead pack at the second kilometer in 5:45.2.
 
"I was kind of happy with the opening of the race," Monaghan said. "But one of the mistakes I made was taking the lead so early. I should have stuck back in the top 10 or top 20 group and made some moves later. That affected me later in the race."
 
Aiming for an All-American finish in the top 40, he was in the 40s through the second half,  but picked up his pace considerably toward the end. He split 2:54.3 in the final kilometer.
 
"That was one of the loudest races I've ever been to with a lot of horns and people cheering. Coach Lisa (Kushiyama) told me it was going to be hard for me to hear her," Monaghan said. "I only heard her one time, with about a K to go, I heard her say, 'You're 45th.' I started to try to go, but that's when a lot of other people also decided to start going."
 
This is the third straight year the Loggers have had a runner in the men's nationals. Ben Kerr placed 153rd in 2023 and 123rd last fall.
 
"It's just a really different feel from any other race," Kushiyama said. "It took a little bit to settle in. I thought he did really well – one of the highest finishes for someone in his first time at nationals."
 
Monaghan, who won the Northwest Conference title on Nov. 1 and was sixth at last Saturday's NCAA West Regionals, acknowledged being disappointed at not getting that top-40 finish. But he already is turning his attention to track.
 
He'll race during the upcoming winter indoor season, then his big focus will be on the spring outdoor schedule. That's when Monaghan hopes to take a run at older brother Colin's school record of 29:52.78 in the 10,000 meters, which he set as a senior in 2022 at the Loggers' own Ed Boitano Invitational.
 
Cian's personal best is 31:02.31 at the NWC Championships last April.
 
"I'm going to be working over the winter with Coach Sam (Ring, the Loggers distance coach) to get a lot more foot speed," he said.