EL PASO – Fresh off their record eighth NJCAA Cross Country title, the Iowa Central Women's team tied a couple more NJCAA records at the Half Marathon Championships.
The women scored 12 points to beat defending champions, El Paso Community College, on their home course in Ascarate Park. El Paso was second was with 18 points, followed by South Plains College with 22 points.
This marked their fifth team title, having won previously in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017. Iowa Central and El Paso are now tied for the NJCAA record for the most team half marathon championships.
Leading the charge for the Tritons was Winrose Chesang, who was the individual champion in a time of 1:20:03.6. Chesang ran in the fourth position for most of the 13.1-mile race. Just after 10 miles, she made a strong move to propel herself into the lead with less than a mile to go.
Chesang's final margin of victory was 26 seconds. Her win tied another NJCAA record for the most individual titles by any team. This was the Triton's fourth individual female victory, which ties them with both El Paso and South Plains for the most individual national champions at the half marathon. Leanne Pompeani won titles in both 2015 and 2016, while Adva Cohen won in 2017 for the Tritons.
Chesang holds the second fastest half marathon time in school history behind Pompeani's time of 1:17:41.7 run in Levelland, TX in 2015. Florance Uwajeneza and Eleonora Curtabbi finished fifth and sixth and for the Tritons. They ran times of 1:23:53.6 and 1:24:18.3 respectively. Those were the sixth and eighth fastest times in school history.
All three women earned NJCAA All-America status by placing among the top six. All athletes placing among the top 20 also earned Coaches Association All-America status. Lilian Busienei finished 11th overall in 1:29:14.7, followed by Lilia Alvarez in 12th in 1:29:28.1 and Rosalie Fish in 13th in 1:29:48.3.
Also running for the Tritons was MacKenzie Gaherty who finished 23rd overall in 1:34:22.4 which was a new personal record.
"This was the perfect bookend to an amazing season of accomplishments. This is certainly one of the best squads we have ever had at Iowa Central. Winrose's title was a fairy tale ending to a stellar career at Iowa Central. We wish her the best of luck as she graduates in December," said Coach Dee Brown.
The men's team has dominated the NJCAA Half Marathon Championships in the past, owning three NJCAA records. The men have achieved the lowest score possible, six points, twice in the past. They also have won more team titles (6) and have had more individual national champions (7) then anyone else in the history of the Half Marathon.
The men couldn't pull off another victory, but they did match their performance from the National Cross Country Championships with another third-place finish. Host, El Paso was first with 9 points, followed by Vincennes University with 19 points then the Tritons with 38 points. The Tritons were led by Noah Bundrock with a ninth-place finish in 1:11:55.3.
Teammates Will Whalen (1:13:43.1), Pur Biel (1:14:05.3) and Chris Levario (1:14:55.1) finished in 13th through 15th places. Moise Habineza finished in 1:16:44.8, good for 19th place. All five men earned NJCAA Coaches Association All-America honors.
"Our men ran the best that they could today. They had the option of running the risky race for first or the safe race for second. They had a great pack through three miles right behind El Paso, however they could not hold on after the leaders picked up the pace. Congratulations to El Paso's men who were outstanding today," said Coach Dee Brown.
The Tritons will now prepare for their first Indoor Track and Field competition hosted by the University of Iowa, January 11, 2020 in Iowa City.