- Head coach Michael Melchert is high on freshmen Michael Lord and Quinton Kimrey
- Roster includes sophomores Devon Keuning and Brooklyn Pierce
- Fourth- and fifth-place runners are keys to a successful season
The DMACC men's cross country team will begin the 2022 season today in the Bill Buxton Invitational at Indianola.
The roster includes sophomores Devon Keuning of Ankeny and Brooklyn Pierce of Urbandale and freshmen Jake Hitchcock of Johnston, Quinton Kimrey of Linden, Michael Lord of Des Moines and Rochard Tingue of Haiti. Tingue redshirted last season.
"Coming in from summer training, this is the most prepared group I have had at DMACC," men's cross country coach Michael Melchert said. "Michael Lord and Quinton Kimrey are two of the best recruits I have ever had and it will be exciting to see what they can do this fall."
Keuning is expected to be one of the Bears' top three runners after finishing 14th in the 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region XI Championship. Pierce attended DMACC last year but did not compete in cross country.
"We have really been impressed with our freshmen group," Melchert said. "We expect Lord and Kimrey to carry a lot of the load and Keuning has had a way better summer than he had last year so we have a very good top three and we'll see what the next two look like."
Melchert said the biggest key to the season is getting the fourth and fifth runners to finish as close as they can to Lord, Kimrey and Keuning. Hitchcock, Pierce and Tingue will compete for those other two spots.
The DMACC men's cross country team will compete in five meets this fall, capped by the NJCAA Division II Region XI Championship on Oct. 30. Top teams and individual qualifiers in the Region XI Championship will run in the NJCAA Division II National Championship Nov. 12 at Tallahassee, Fla.