NMJC WXC Finishes Runner-Up at Nationals
The New Mexico Junior College women's cross country team finished runner-up to the College of Southern Idaho (CSI) at the Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla. Saturday morning.
The Thunderbirds finished the 5k race with team score of 79 points, while CSI was just ahead of NMJC with 61 points. The runner-up performance in 2022 ties the 2019 team for the best finish in school history.
Freshman Damaris Chewon was the top finisher at the national meet for NMJC coming in third place with a time of 18:13.00. Faith Nyathi of El Paso finished in first place for the second consecutive year (17:47.80).
Sophomore runner Letlhogonolo Magoro (Nolo) finished in 13th place (19:05.40), sophomore Joan Kimalel came in 14th place (19:07.90), sophomore Daisy Jerop placed 25th overall with a time of 19:26.80, and freshman Carolyne Kimaiyo rounded out the team scoring in 29th place (19:41.20).
Freshman Vanessa Gallegos finished 35th as an individual with a time of 19:52.70 and sophomore Minankolo Magassa finished 63rd (20:53.80).
Head coach Jeff Becker said he knew the challenge of defeating the defending champions from last season.
"College of Southern Idaho were the defending champions and they had been ranked No. 1 most of the year. They returned a lot of runners from last year, so we knew they were going to be tough. I believed in our ladies, and I felt like we could challenge them. Last year CSI ran away with the meet and beat everyone by 68 points. This year we made them work for it."
The race was competitive from start to finish with the Thunderbirds holding onto a lead throughout the race.
"We took the race out strong, and about a mile in at the first checkpoint we were winning the race," Becker said. "At the 3k mark, two kilometers left, we still had a slight lead on them. It wasn't until the last couple of kilometers that they were able to catch us and eventually pull away. But overall, I'm very proud of these young ladies."
The women were able to earn three NJCAA All-American selections with their finishes. A runner must finish in the Top 15 to be named an NJCAA All-American.
"Damaris led the way in 3rd place," Becker said. "This was a great run for her, she got beat by the top two runners from last year, so she should be one of the favorites for next year's event."
"We also have two other NJCAA All-Americans in Nolo and in Joan," Becker said.
"Nolo struggled in cross country last year, her first year, so for her to come back and be an All-American this year was fantastic. She put in a lot of work on her own this summer and that really helped her when she returned back to campus and was really fit. Nolo had a great season overall."
"Joan, I'm really proud of her to be able to pick up an All-American honor and finish in 15th place. She had some struggles this year and there were times where I thought she wasn't going to be able to finish out the season. She had some major issues with her knees. She also battled some other health issues, so for her to be able to put all those things aside and tough it through the season and finish up as an All-American was outstanding."
"We also had Daisy Jerop, who will be a Coach's Association All-American with a 25th place finish. She wanted to repeat as an All-American from last year but had to battle through a lot after being out for a long period of time with a stress fracture last year."
The season is not finished yet. NMJC will have runners competing in the NJCAA Half-Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 15 in Tallahassee, Fla.
"We'll be running the NJCAA Half-Marathon Championship on Tuesday, and we're excited to run these," Becker said. The way we showed out at the cross country championships should carry over to this half-marathon."
"I think both teams have a great chance to place really high as a team and for us to also be able to pick up some All-American honors in the half-marathon race as well."
