Galloway, N.J. - Three Stockton University cross country runners garnered NJAC Second Team honors for their finishes at the NJAC Championships this past weekend. The trio led the Stockton men's and women's cross country teams to third place at the conference meet.
 
Evelynn Austin (Sparta/Pope John XXIII) placed 11th out of 90 runners with a time of 23:20.0 for six kilometers. Sarah Rutledge (Egg Harbor Twp./EHT) came in 14th with a personal best of 23:37.9.
 
With those finishes, Austin and Rutledge earned all-conference accolades for the first time in their careers as they qualified for NJAC Second Team spots.
 
On the men's side, James Clauson (Haddon Twp./Haddon Twp.) led the Ospreys with a personal best of 26:05.4 for 13th place out of 106 runners and an NJAC Second Team accolade in his freshman year.
 
Clauson passed a Ramapo runner in the final 100 meters and that proved to be the difference in Stockton finishing third over the Roadrunners by one point.
 
Austin won twice to begin the season, topping the field at the GCU Jersey Pines Challenge and the TCNJ Herb Lorenz Invitational. Rutledge has placed in the top 10 in two of her five meets this season.
 
Clauson was named NJAC Rookie of the Week on September 21. He has placed in the top 10 in three of his five races during his freshman campaign.
 
The Stockton men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the NCAA Regionals on November 14.