TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Kiel Uhl raced his way to a 67th place finish at the men’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Monday.

The true freshman covered the 10-kilometer course in 30 minutes, 40 seconds.

After the race, Uhl had mixed emotions about his performance. Though in reflection of what he had accomplished over the season, he was all smiles.

“My goal was to be an all-American, but I kind of underestimated the extent of the race,” Uhl said.

“But I can’t be selfish because I know there are a lot of freshmen that would’ve liked to be here.”

Uhl, who hung around 60th position midway through the race, said the hills slowly got to him.

“When it came time to move up, I dropped back,” he said.

“By the end of the race, I was toast.”

Corey Ihmels, men’s cross country coach, said he spoke with Uhl before the race about the atmosphere.

“He had asked me if it was easy to get overwhelmed, and I said there is no way to explain it, you just have to experience it,” Ihmels said.

He said the experience would help serve Uhl in the future and make him a better runner.

Upon reflection of the season, Uhl said he never had it in his mind to be contending at the national meet at the end of the year.

“This is a really good start,” Uhl said of his ISU running career. “I know what I need to work on, and I have three more years to really say something.”

Uhl finished 10th among 39 freshmen in the race. There were 253 runners in the race.

Now that the collegiate cross country season is over, Uhl said he will focus on track and will also attempt to qualify for the U.S. Junior National Cross Country team.

The race was won by Simon Bairu of Wisconsin. Bairu defended his individual title in a time of 29 minutes, 15 seconds and also lead his fellow Badgers to the team title with a dominant 37-point performance.