After bringing home the NAIA Men’s National Cross Country Championship in 2004, Virginia Intermont College begins the 2005 campaign as the association’s favorite. In the NAIA’ Pre Season Poll, the Cobras are ranked first with 175 points and all seven first place votes, followed by Aquinas College’s (Mich.) 168 points and Southern Oregon’s 157 points, respectively.
Despite the completion of eligibility of front runners Fernando Cabada and Corey Duquette, third and seventh nationally in 2005, and the loss of regional champion David Cheromei, Intermont will rely on a strongly developing squad that looks to pick-up where last year’s team left off.

Leading the Cobras in 2005 will be the All-American duo of Ondrej Puskar and James Mousseau. Senior Mousseau will lead the charge this year after his 18th place national cross country finish and a disappointing injury-filled 2005 track season. Sophomore roommate Puskar, 21st last year, will build on strength and experience after earning All-American honors in the indoor 3,000-meters last year and qualifying for the national outdoor championships in the both 5k and 10k and improving his best times in all events from 1500m to the 10k.

VIC returns crucial experience with Nick Glimsdahl and Mudasar Haidat, runners on the seven-man national championship squad who both finished just outside of All-American honors as a sophomore and a freshman, respectively, in 37th and 58th. Haidat, a native of Alexandria, Va. finished his 2005 track campaign with a national runner-up finish in the NAIA Marathon, while Glimsdahl improved to an NAIA Top 10 3k steeplechase mark of 9:22.