The King's College cross country team has made great strides in recent years. Once a co-ed sport, cross country was divided into separate men's and women's teams in 1992 to provide additional opportunities for participation and competition. The building process has seen steady improvement as the program has seen its largest participation numbers since the division.
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The program has seen vast growth in recent years and is expected to continue to improve under the direction of 16-year head coach Mike Kolinovsky who moved up to the top spot in 2002 after serving as assistant coach with the Monarchs for three seasons. Kolinovsky is also a former King's standout runner and team captain.Â
King's showed it was a program on the rise in 2005 when sophomore Ed Kopec led a young Monarch contingent with a fourth-place finish at the MAC Championships, giving King's its fourth conference place-winner in the past four years. Kopec then finished 27th in the NCAA Mid-east Regionals, narrowly missing a trip to Division III nationals.
On the women's side, Kelley Weidwald became the first Lady Monarch freshmen to earn all-conference honors with a 19th place finish in the MAC Championships. In 2008, sophomore Tori Posatko proved to be a star on the rise with a 15th place finish in the MAC Championships.
In 2009, King's women placed sixth in the MAC's with freshman Molly Brown earning all-conference honors with a 17th place finish while Posatko overcame injuries to finish 20th for her second all-conference showing in a row.
The 2013 squad enjoyed a solid season culminated by star freshman Marissa Durako placing seventh in the MAC Championships while senior Robert Moulton was ninth. Durako eventually earned a spot in the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championships and is a three-time All-MAC selection heading into 2017. Ben Siegel twice earned All-MAC honors in 2014 and 2016. In 2016 freshman Tara Johnson proved to be a star of the future, placing fifth in the MAC Championships and earning MAC "Rookie of the Year" honors.
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The King's College women's and men's cross country teams have also been consistently ranked among the top academic squads in the nation as both teams have been selected to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on a numbr of occasions. Since 1993, King's has placed 159 runners on the MAC Academic Honor Roll for posting a minimum 3.20 GPA.
The vast majority of the team's competition comes in the form of large, multi-team tournaments on weekends, with an occasional dual, triangular, or quadrangular meet on the schedule. Â
Both men's and women's teams then compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships which includes a field of approximately 150 runners from 17 rival colleges in each men's and women's competition. Â
The squad also competes in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, a qualifying event for the NCAA Division III National Championships.
Last updated 6/13/2017
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