Top-ranked Trojans place 2nd at Grand View Invite
ANKENY - The top-ranked (NJCAA Division II) NIACC men's cross country team placed second Friday at the Grand View Viking Invitational.
The Trojans earned their second-place finish by totaling 54 points. No. 1 (NJCAA Division I) Iowa Central was the team champion with 22 points.
NIACC, which is ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history, was led by freshman Melvin Kipkemboi with a seventh-place finish in a time of 27 minutes, 12 seconds on the 8-kilometer course on the DMACC campus.
Iowa Central's Kelvin Bungei was the individual champion with 26:17.
Iowa Western was third with 72 points and host Grand View was fourth with 120 points.
Other counting scores for the Trojans were Jorge Ruiz was ninth (27:17), Vicente Correia was 11th (27:41), Janvier Irakoze was 13th (27:48) and Jalen Petersen was 14th (27:50).
Also for NIACC, Caleb Sledd was 35th (28:55), Stephen Ringo was 38th (29:02), Richard Marcoux was 42nd (29:14), Stephen Votaw was 52nd (30:01), Ben Ellis was 53rd (30:01), Blake Lofing was 55th (30:05), Bryden Juelsgaard was 61st (30:17), Aidan Bauermeister was 75th (31:17), Ellis Regan was 81st (31:53) and Isaac Anderson was 109th (36:32).
NIACC returns to action Sept. 25 at the Southwestern Spartan Classic in Creston.
