DMACC men's cross country team finishes sixth in NJCAA Region XI Time Trial

Photo by Kirk Hardcastle; NIACC Sports Information
Photo by Kirk Hardcastle; NIACC Sports Information

The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) athletic department began a men's cross country program this fall and the Bears made their initial debut with a sixth-place finishing August 23 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Time Trial at Ottumwa sixth.

 

Freshman Tony Rodriquez of Des Moines led DMACC, finishing third in the individual competition with a time of 16 minutes, 13 seconds over the 5K (3.1-mile) course. Freshman Cameron Campbell of Ames added a 13th-place finish in 17:31 as the Bears scored 132 points.

 

Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) won the team championship with 24 points and Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) was second with 80 points. IWCC's Shawn Kiptoo won the individual competition with a time of 15:39.

 

Other DMACC results saw freshmen Blake Gregory of Ogden, Noah Lee of Boone and Hunter Humiston of Columbus Junction finish 37th, 39th and 40th respectively. Gregory was timed in 18:42, Lee crossed the finish line in 18:48 and Humiston turned in a time of 18:53.

 

Freshmen Aaron Thompson of Ames and Cole Bennett of Ogden also competed in the meet. Thompson finished 44th in 19:09 and Bennett was 52nd in 21:19.

 

"I thought it was a good start, but not anything near to what they can run," DMACC men's cross country coach Jordan Andrews said of his team's performance. "I think we can race a little bit smarter and figure out the correct way to race. We're a better team than we showed in our first meet."

 

Andrews said he was pleased with the way Rodriquez ran.

 

"It was definitely a strong performance for him being able to run with the top guys in our conference," Andrews said. "The key for our guys is to work together and work as a team. If we can do that we'll definitely race better and continue to grow."

 

The DMACC men's cross country team will run in the Viking Invitational Sept. 13 at Des Moines.