OTTUMWA – The Tritons did it again. The men's and women's teams swept the 2019 Region XI Cross Country Championships hosted by Indian Hills. In both races, Iowa Western finished second while NIACC was third. The women remain undefeated at the Region Championships having won every title since the competition began in 2004, while the men have won the last seven in a row and 13 of the 16 total contests.
The NJCAA #2 ranked men of Iowa Central finished with 23 points to Iowa Western's 50 points, followed by NIACC with 87 points. Hawkeye, Indian Hills, Southwestern and DMACC rounded out the remaining teams.
The men's 8-kilometer race was won by sophomore, Awet Yohannes in 24:16.2, just one-tenth of a second from the Region XI record established last year by former Triton, Ezekiel Kipchirchir. Yohannes battled with two Reivers in the last half mile and held on for the victory by less than one second. For his effort, Yohannes was named the Region XI Male Athlete of the Year. Tritons then went on to sweep places four through ten. Earning 1st Team All-Region XI honors were Yohannes, freshman Pur Biel (4th – 24:55.4) of Sudan, sophomore Noah Bundrock (5th – 24:57.8) of Howard Lake, MN, freshman Noah Friske ( 6th – 24:59.1) of Rockford, IL and freshman Chris Levario (7th – 25:18.6) of Aurora, IL.
Earning 2nd Team All-Region XI honors were sophomore Moise Habineza (8th – 25:18.9) of West Des Moines, freshman Eldad Mulugeta (9th – 25:28.9) of Silver Spring, MD, sophomore Milos Pendic (10th – 25:29.2) of Serbia and sophomore Trevor Ramsdell (13th – 25:43.3) of Omaha, NE.
Three athletes earned Region XI Honorable Mention accolades by placing within the top 25. Those athletes included sophomore Will Whalen (18th – 25:50.1) of Dubuque, freshman Jordan Hustak (20th – 25:53.7) of Missouri Valley and freshman Baraka Sila (24th – 26:09.5) of Silver Spring, MD.
"Our men put together one of the best races of the season at the perfect time," said Director of Cross Country & Track and Field, Dee Brown. "They ran in packs and they competed!"
Head Coach Nick Ekel said, "I was very impressed with how our men competed. To have eight men finish in the top ten of the Region XI meet and twelve total Tritons earn All-Region honors speaks to the depth and competitiveness of our team. It was satisfying to see so many of our guys come away with personal record times today."
The women's team scores weren't much different. Despite sitting their fifth runner, the NJCAA #1 ranked Tritons ran away with the title, scoring 20 points. Iowa Western was second with 53 points, followed by NIACC (70), DMACC (114), Hawkeye (137) and Southwestern (162).
After trailing the entire race, Kenyan sophomore, Winrose Chesang decided to make a move in the last 400 meters to earn the victory in the 5-kilometer race with a new Region XI Meet Record time of 16:41.2. Chesang outdistanced her nearest competitor by 11 seconds. After the meet, Chesang was named the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I Female Runner of the Week for the second straight week. Finishing in the top seven for Iowa Central and earning 1st Team All-Region XI Honors were: sophomore Lilian Busienei (3rd – 17:25.6) of Kenya, freshman Eleonora Curtabbi (4th – 17:27.1) of Italy, sophomore Florance Uwajeneza (5th - 17:38.2) of St. Paul, MN, and freshman Lilia Alvarez (7th – 18:48.7) of Omaha, NE.
Sophomores MacKenzie Gaherty of Dubuque finished in 10th place (19:00.1) while teammate, Janet Nyamboneka of Iowa City was 11th (19:09.5) to earn 2nd Team All-Region recognition.
"With our performance today, it is very apparent that the fitness level of our women is at a championship level. This is a very special group of women who care deeply about one-another and to have their work this season be rewarded with a region championship is justly deserved," stated Coach Ekel.
"This was a great tune-up for both teams as we head into the national meet next week. We finally got on a course that allowed us to run some fast times and gain the confidence to see where we stack up against the rest of the nation," said Coach Brown.
Coach Dee Brown was honored as the Region XI Men's and Women's Coach of the Year.
The Tritons compete Saturday, November 9th on the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque, NM. The men's 8-kilometer race begins at 11:00 am while the women's race is at noon (MST).
