CHINO, Calif. — Eric Kleinsasser (Glendale, CA) is used to being alone atop the podium—the senior Occidental men’s cross country runner has won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference individual championship each of the last three years.

But as he crossed the finish line for his fourth consecutive SCIAC championship at Prado Park on Saturday, he really got into unprecedented territory.

The senior geology major completed the 4.96-mile course in 25 minutes and 37 seconds, leading the Tigers to a first place team finish and the SCIAC championship, while winning his fourth SCIAC individual championship in four years, an accolade that no male runner has accomplished in more that 100 years of the conference’s existence.

Making history doing something he has been striding towards his entire time at Oxy, along with leading the men’s team to a championship, is what Kleinsasser said is the most gratifying element.

“It’s really just sort of nailing in the final component of that goal,” Kleinsasser said. “The real excitement today is combining that with the team championship. For it to come together that way, that’s the real icing on the cake.”

After a few comfortable victories earlier this season, Kleinsasser pulled off his biggest win yet by the narrowest of margins. The next runner to finish the 8k race was the University of La Verne’s Alex Forbes, who came in just under 10 seconds later.

“It certainly wasn’t exciting while I was doing it,” Kleinsasser said of Forbes nipping at his heels. “In retrospect though I’m glad it happened that way. It was an interesting race came down to the end.”

The win is the third for Kleinsasser this season—he won the SCIAC Multi Dual at La Mirada on Oct. 15 and UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 17. In his three-year career, Kleinsasser has been named the SCIAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year seven times.

But this accomplishment, along with some pending regional and national races, will be among his top highlights as a runner at Oxy.

“It’s very special and with the team victory too, it will be something I always remember,” Kleinsasser said.

Kleinsasser’s success over four years exemplifies a certain type of mentality he consistently brought to practice and meets throughout his career.

“It’s obviously a unique accomplishment that has never been done before,” Occidental coach Rob Bartlett said. “It’s just a testament to his hard work, his attitude and really his dedication over four years. … As a coach you couldn’t ask for more.”

He’s made plenty of races look easy is his career, but in the days leading up to the event he felt more than a little bit of the pressure as the odds-on favorite with so much history at stake.

“It was difficult trying to stay relaxed and to not get too nervous,” Kleinsasser said. “I felt the impending significance of going for a four-year championship.”

While the accomplishment is worthy of celebration and notoriety, one of the best NCAA Division III runners in the nation and the Tigers aren’t done.

Occidental will host the NCAA West Regional at Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont on Nov. 5. As the best runner, on the No. 1 ranked team in the west, Kleinsasser should be among the favorites to win the regional meet as well.

“The conference has gotten really competitive in last couple of years,” Kleinsasser said. “I feel confident about our chances going up against the teams from the Northwest.”

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