LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Matyas Csiki-Fejer capped off his Suffolk men's cross country career with an exclamation point, An All-American, 35th-place performance at the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships hosted by Spalding University and the Louisville Sports Commission Saturday morning at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park.
Csiki-Fejer completed the 8k course with a personal-best time of 24:20.0 to make history. The performance made him the first cross country runner in blue-and-gold, male or female, to garner All-America status, which is presented to the top 40 finishers at the national championship by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Not only did he etch his name in the Rams' record books, but he became the first male student-athlete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) to garner the highest honor. He is the second-ever CCC individual to grab an All-American accolade first since Hannah Zydanowicz of Roger Williams did so behind a 25th-place performance in 2013 women's race.
On a 48-degree, mostly sunny day, Csiki-Fejer found himself in 43rd place at the first kilometer mark. The Manchester, Missouri native zoomed up 31 spots over the next two kilometers and was just outside the top 10 in 12th. He broke into the top of the pack over the next kilometer and went up as high as seventh at the 5k check point.
Over the last three kilometers, the rest of the 289-runner field turned up their engines, while Csiki-Fejer's tank was running out of gas. He slipped back to 12th at the 6.4k point and ended up managing a pace to take a spot within the top 40 to claim All-America status.
The run at nationals was Csiki-Fejer's second as he became the first male Ram to earn a place at NCAAs as a sophomore in 2019.
With the 2021 cross country campaign completed, Csiki-Fejer will now transition into the indoor track & field season.
