Star Spartan Ryan Cox named XC All American

Ryan Cox, a 2016 graduate of Bainbridge High School, was recently named an All American in cross country on the strength of his sixth-place finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 3 National Cross Country Championship in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Nov. 17.

A junior at Williams College in Massachusetts, Cox led his team to eighth place in the national championship, running the 8K course in 24:37 (4:57 per mile), just 3 seconds behind the only junior ahead of him.

In late October, Cox won the New England Small College Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship, where, BHS cross country team Assistant Coach Paul Benton said, his coach Pete Farwell praised him as “our most consistent high-level trainer” who demonstrates “mastery of a quick start, smart positioning, and a long, strong finish.”

At BHS, Cox led the 2015 boys cross country team to 7th place at the state championship meet with a (then) school record course time of 15:46.

Benton said Willamette University senior Keith Carlson, another former BHS cross country star (16:15 at State in 2014) and Cox’s good friend and on-island training partner, also raced in the National Championship at Oshkosh, just missing All American status as he finished 47th (25:04).