* Sam Hansen was in last place at one point during the Champs Sports Nationals race. He would end up finishing third overall
Photo Credit: Raymond Tran/MileSplit
By Tim Casey - MileSplit Recruiting Reporter
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On Dec. 10, Sam Hansen entered the Champs Sports National Cross Country Championships as an unheralded athlete on a national level, overshadowed by more highly recruited runners.
Still, he had studied the course, felt he was in good shape and was confident he could compete.
That day, the senior from Woods Cross (UT) High School had the race of his young life.
He finished in third place, just 0.2 seconds behind Noah Breker, a senior from Minneapolis Robbinsdale Armstrong (MN) who had signed a national letter of intent with the University of North Carolina.
After that race, North Carolina's coaches approached Hansen and expressed interest in having him run for the school. They were familiar with Hansen because his sister, Carlee Hansen, is a sophomore on the UNC women's cross countr...
