• Head coach Michael Melchert named 2024 Coach of the Year
• Page, freshman Caden Brown and sophomores Jordan King and Will Thompson named to the all-region first team
• Five other DMACC runners are also honored

Nine members of the DMACC men's cross country team and head coach Michael Melchert have been honored by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) for the team's success during the fall season.

Topping the list of honorees is freshman Eli Page of Vinton. Page was named the 2024 Division II Athlete of the Year after he won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region 11 championship Oct. 25 at Ottumwa.

Page posted a time of 25 minutes, 13 seconds in winning the 8K event and his time was the best of the 39 Division II runners competing in the race. He also beat his previous best 8K time of 26:11 and he led DMACC runners to the first six places in the competition as the Bears won their first-ever Region 11 team championship.

In addition to being named the 2024 Division II Athlete of the Year, Page was named to the ICCAC All-Conference Second Team and the Division II Region 11 All-Region First Team. Page has also been named the ICCAC Athlete of the Week for Division II Men's Cross Country for the Week of Oct. 21-27, the third time he has been honored this fall.

Page is one of three members of the DMACC men's cross country team to have been named athlete of the week this fall. Sophomore Jordan King of Ogden was honored the week of Oct. 7 to 13 and sophomore Pat Heffernan of Dunlap was honored the week of Sept. 9 to 15.

Freshman Caden Brown of Muscatine and sophomore Will Thompson of Clive joined Page on the all-conference second team and King joined Page, Brown and Thompson on the all-region first team.

Other DMACC honorees included sophomore Jake Hitchcock of Johnston, sophomore Owen Almelien of Greene, freshman Zach Stoermer of Des Moines, freshman Daniel Schoening and freshman Elijah Blix of Vinton. Hitchcock, King, Almelien and Stoermer earned all-conference honorable mention and Hitchcock, Almelien and Stoermer earned all-region second team recognition with Schoening and Blix receiving all-region honorable mention.

Melchert, is his fifth season as DMACC men's cross country coach, was named the 2024 Division II Coach of the Year.