The cross country careers of senior standouts Brian Lief and David Westcott came to a close on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Div. III Championships held at Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wis. Westcott led The College of Wooster duo to the finish at 25:47.0 and placed 132nd while Lief's 28:18.9 placed him 276th.

Wooster seniors Brian Lief and David Westcott represented the Scots at the NCAA Div. III Championships.

"What a great accomplishment for both Brian and David to make it to the Div. III Championships," said head coach Dennis Rice. "That's the ultimate goal for every cross country runner to get to the national championship and have the opportunity to compete against the best runners in the country. Brian and David worked extremely hard and made a true commitment to achieve the greatest possible success, which is to compete at the championships.

"They put the mileage in not only though the fall, but the prep work in the summer time to prepare for the upcoming season," continued Rice. "They put in the hard work that was needed and had the dedication to run at the championship level. It's a great way to end their senior year."

North Central College (Ill.) won the men's team title for the third straight year with 43 points, while the Cardinals' Dhruvil Patel captured first-place at 24:24.5.

Lief and Westcott were the first Fighting Scot men to compete at the NCAA Div. III Championships since 2003.

"It was an exciting season for us to finish in the top three in the North Coast Athletic Conference, break into the top 10 at the Great Lakes Regional, and then have two national qualifiers to conclude the season," summed up Rice.