TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Mohammed Bati (JR, Dodola,Ethiopia/GAP School) became the first-ever Augsburg University men's cross country runner to earn All-American honors, finishing second in an incredibly competitive race on Saturday at the NCAA Division III National Championships.

RESULTS 
MEN: Augsburg's Mohammed Bati 2nd/294 (24:03.7)
LOCATION: LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course, Terre Haute, Ind.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
• Competing in his second national championships, Bati finished second in the 294-runner field, completing the 8,000-meter course in 24:03.7, just 2.1 seconds behind the national titlist, Christian Patzka of Wisconsin-Whitewater (24:01.6). The time was Bati's second-fastest of his collegiate career.
• The race was a competitive one throughout, as Bati was in a solid pack of runners over the first five kilometers. Eventually, a pack of about 10 runners broke away, and Bati moved into the front pack, taking the lead going into the final kilometer. Patzka passed Bati in the final 500 meters. 
• Bati has now competed in 20 races in his collegiate career, with 15 sub-25-minute 8,000-meter times. He has won 13 individual titles in his college career. Bati competed at the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championships, finishing 168th.
• It marks the sixth time an Augsburg men's cross country runner has qualified for the national championships, and Bati now joins Brent Haglund (2008, 57th place; 2009, 68th place) as Auggies who have qualified for two national meets. Micheale Tesema finished 62nd at the national meet in 2012, and Dan Spies finished 132nd at the 1996 national meet.