The Iowa Central men will be looking to a lot of new contributors this fall on the Cross-Country course as they graduated five of their top seven from a year ago. Last year the Tritons won the Iowa Community College Athletic (ICCAC) Conference Championship by two points over Iowa Western, Indian Hills was 3rd only three points back from the Tritons. Unfortunately, when the non-DI programs were pulled out the Tritons finished 2nd behind Iowa Western in the Region 11 race. At the NJCAA National Championships, Iowa Central finished 8th place.
The top returns for the Tritons are Hamza Mohamed and Antoine Tshimanga. Mohamed was Iowa Central's fourth runner at the regional meet placing 10th and third runner placing 41st at the national championships. He earned Second Team All-Conference and All-Regional honors for his efforts. Tshimanga was the seventh runner for the Tritons at the regional championships, placing 25th at the meet.
"This year I'm looking forward to spending time and making memories with my team," said Mohamed. "I'm excited to work hard with them and watch us progress throughout the season."
Other returners for the Tritons include Alex Aguilar Camarena, Chase Deiter, Kaden Golder and Ben Reyes.
Triton fans might recognize some familiar names and faces with a couple of the Iowa Central newcomers. Both Brian Kirwa and Ala Elmbarki are following in their siblings' footsteps in attending Iowa Central. Kirwa is the sixth member of his family to run for the Tritons. Brothers Stanley Kebenei (also in the Hall of Fame), Fankline Tonui, Aspel Kiprob and sister Viola Kebenei are proud Triton alumni.
"Running at Iowa Central feels like continuing a proud family tradition, carrying forward the legacy established by my siblings," said Kirwa. "It's both an honor and motivation knowing that I'm part of a lineage that contributed so much to the program's success."
Ala's brother Jed (Elmbarki) just finished his time with the Tritons in May. Jed was a member of the Distance Medley Relay team that won a national title and set school, facility, meet and national records last season.
"Jed took big steps for our family's life coming to Iowa Central," said Ala. "My family is so proud of him and I'm excited to follow in his footsteps here."
Mohamed Dahmouch, Landon Fuller, Jonah Jahnke, Brayden Kramber, Rodney Maracle, Alex Marchand Fierro, Alexis Ortiz, Evan Paplow, Brennen Peterson, Tristan Strantz and Devan Turner round out the newcomers for the Tritons.
"Going to a JUCO means that every year over half the team is new," said Deiter. "The team dynamic and chemistry can drastically change year to year. This season, our team is a melting pot of ethnicities and cultures. Everyone is very friendly and humble, regardless of their talent level. This year is going to be full of many surprises and much fun."
On the women's side the Tritons return two runners from last season, Morgan Bodholdt and Natalie Bogdanova Kirilova. At the regional meet last year Bogdanova Kirilova took 11th place and Bodholdt was 12th, both received All-Region Honorable Mention for their efforts.
"I'm really excited about this cross country season," said Bogdanova Kirilova. "We finally have a good team of girls. I have a feeling this season is going to go very well."
"Coach Brown and Coach MacKenize (Gaherty) did a great job recruiting this past year," said Bodholdt. "It's been so much fun this preseason to have a full team of good runners to train with. I'm really looking forward to what we'll be able to accomplish as a group once the season gets started. This team has big goals as individuals and as a team for this fall."
Newcomers to the Tritons squad include Yididiya Bifa, Dari Cook, Alivia Edens, Marie Garret, Juliette Gavois, Abbi Hutchinson, Imanee Jourji and Maud Lambotte.
"This women's team has been a lot of fun this preseason," said Director of Cross Country, Dee Brown. "They work hard and they're a joy to be around. If they keep up what they've been doing so far, they will achieve a lot this year."
The Triton also added a new face to the coaching staff this offseason. Mark Bennett joined the staff in August and has gotten right to work. Bennett most recently coached at Pima CC, an NJCAA program located in Arizona.
"I'm excited to be at Iowa Central," said Bennett. "Camp and preseason have been awesome so far. Both our men's and women's teams are full of talented hardworking student-athletes. I'm really looking forward to what both these group will be able to do this fall."
Iowa Central opens their season on Friday, August 30th at the Hawkeye Invite hosted by University of Iowa.