By: Dana Becker 

Messenger Sports Staff 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Iowa Central men's cross country team secured a Top-10 finish here Saturday at the NJCAA Div. I Championships.

Trinidad State was first followed by Salt Lake and Colby. Salt Lake freshman JaQuavious Harris won the individual title by five seconds over Tomas Vega of New Mexico.

Leading the way for the Tritons was Housem Hrabi, as the sophomore clocked a time of 24:12.80 to finish 11th overall.

"We were ranked as low as 14th a month ago and after our breakout region championship, we jumped up to a No. 7 mark," ICCC head coach Dee Brown said. "Our goal was to at least run at that level and if we could put seven exceptional races together on the same day, we figured we could place as high as fifth.

"Even though we might have finished just shy of our goal, we can't be disappointed. Each one of these guys contributed so much to our team, to our family and to our story this year. Each of them overcame individual obstacles to be where they are today, and for that, I am very proud of them all."

Jed Elmbarki was 34th, Hamza Mohamed finished 41st, Jadon Boots was 51st, Joseph Ashai Wright placed 80th, Andrew Boyum was 83rd and Seth Cheney finished 95th.

"Five of our seven guys ran their personal best times," Brown said. "The other two were within seconds of their best. I am definitely happy with how they all performed. Housem was able to earn NJCAA All-American status by finishing among the Top-15.

Both Hrabi and Elmbarki were recovering from injuries suffered during the previous year, with this marking just their third race of the season.

This was the first time since 2020 that all three NJCAA divisions held their championships at the same site

Up next will be the NJCAA Half Marathon Championships back here on Tuesday.

"We are looking forward to competing in the half marathon championships," Brown said. "We will have a full men's team and two women in the largest field ever for the event.

"After that, we will take some time off before we get ready for the indoor track and field season."