Bendura, Campbell Shine at Collegiate Trail Running National Championship

Athens, Ohio— Richmond cross country runner Jordan Bendura finished runner-up and teammate Noah Campbell took sixth at the Collegiate Trail Running National Championships in Athens, Ohio earlier this month. Held within the Thunderbunny 11K in Strouds Run State Park, Bendura capped a successful year earning Collegiate Running Association All-America honors with his top five finish.

Founded by Richmond head men's cross country coach Steve Taylor and associate track and field head coach Jon Molz in 2013, The Collegiate Running Association runs its national championship 11k trail race as part of the event and awards NCAA-sanctioned cash prizes to the top three male and female finishers who currently are enrolled in at least one college class.

Runners from across the country battled rain-soaked trails and dark skies with evening temperatures in the upper 60s throughout the 6.8 mile course. The race opened with a balmy 4:50 mile out of the leaders down paved road before turning into the forest where they'd battle it out on single track.

And a battle it was.

After nearly seven miles of aggressive trail racing, Ohio University's Josh Park emerged victorious while Bendura and another Ohio Bobcat, Tony Tonkovich, exchanged blows throughout the challenging course, trading places for the lead on one another throughout.

Emerging from the wet trails, Bendura made a charge for the lead with 250 meters left to go, but Tonkovich caught up with the rising Spider junior and the remainder of the race was an all-out sprint to claim the national championships runner-up title.

Shoulder-to-shoulder over the finish line, the pair leaned in where Bendura (44:37.135) edged Tonkovich (4:37.144) by just nine thousandths of a second. Campbell crossed sixth to round out the top collegiate finishers.

It's been a great year for Bendura who set personal best marks across every distance he raced this year. He was also a member of the Spiders 2020 Atlantic 10 cross country championship team. He recently finished fourth in the 2022 Collegiate 10K road race national championships within the Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond on April 23.

During his freshman year, Campbell represented the U.S. in the 2018 Youth Sky Running World Championships in Fonte Cerreto, L'Aquila, Italy and as a sophomore, earned first team All-Conference helping the Spiders win the 2020 Atlantic 10 Conference Cross Country Championships.

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