LINCOLN, NE - Over 30 teams representing the NJCAA, NCAA Division I, II and NIAAI; converged at Mahoney Park for the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational on Saturday. The Iowa Central men finished fifth out of 31 teams while the overall winner was Colby Community College from Kansas. The men started out conservatively and were running in ninth place at the 3 kilometer mark, but had moved up to fifth by 6 km where they maintained their position over the final 2km.  The Tritons were the second junior college overall followed by other NJCAA programs from Trinidad State, Northwest Kansas Tech, Iowa Western, Cloud County, Garden City, Pratt CC, and Southwestern CC.

Running without their top runner this weekend, the Tritons were led by freshman Housem Hrabi of Tunisia. Hrabi finished in 18^th place overall in the field of 323 runners. Hrabi's time of 24:49.1 is the 18^th fastest time in school history.  Hrabi was followed by the Hawkeye Invitational Champion, Aye Devany in 25^th place at 25:04.7. Sophomore captain, Zander Cobb finished 32^nd in 25:10.7. Rounding out the scoring for the Tritons were Will Sacay (46/25:31.0), Yared Kidane (72/25:57.6), Brady Hogan (85/26:12.5), and Ander Julian (101/26:30.7).

"Each week we have had a new leader on the team.  That shows how deep and interchangeable our squad is," said Coach Brown.

The Iowa Central women finished 15^th of 29 teams and were the second junior college overall. Hutchinson CC finished 55 points ahead of the Triton in 13^th place. The overall winner was Kansas State with 54 points followed by Nebraska with 59.

Sophomores Taylor McCreedy and Chloe Garcia Grafing led the Tritons with their 53^rd and 56^th place finishes, both just dipping below the 19-minute barrier. Zinash Valen finished in 19:26 with an 83^rd place finish.  Britney Brown (180^th/21:12) and Kate Miron (227^th/2:22) completed the scoring for the women in the field of 311 athletes.

"This was a fantastic opportunity for us to see exactly where our team sits relative to the competition we will see at the National Championships. I am very pleased with how we competed and where we finished today. This meet provided us with a lot of information and a clear path forward for the rest of the season," stated Coach Brown.

The Tritons will return to action in two weeks at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, AR.