No. 3 NIACC men win Southwestern Spartan Classic
CRESTON - The No. 3 (NJCAA Division II) NIACC men's cross country team claimed the Southwestern Spartan Classic Friday with a total of 29 points.
Indian Hills was second in the four-team meet with 35 points. Highland CC was third with 85 points and host Southwestern was fourth with 86 points.
NIACC claimed the top three spots in the 8-kilometer race on the Southwestern campus. Sophomore Jorge Ruiz was the individual champion in a time of 27 minutes, 15 seconds.
Ruiz' highest finish during his freshman season was an 11th-place finish at the NJCAA Region XI meet. Ruiz is the first NIACC men's runner to win an indiviual title since Abdiaziz Wako won the 2018 Trent Smith Invitational.
NIACC's Vicente Correia was second in 27:55 and Jalen Petersen was third in a time of 28:06.
Other counting scores for the Trojans were Caleb Sledd, who was 11th in 30:19, and Stephen Votaw, who was 12th in 30:25.
Also for the Trojans, Stephen Ringo (15th in 30:53), Richard Marcoux (16th in 31:16), Aidan Bauermeister (18th in 31:33), Ellis Regan (20th in 31:52), Ben Ellis (21st in 32:20), Blake Lofing (23rd in 32:29) and Bryden Juelsgaard (27th in 33:03).
NIACC returns to action Oct. 9 at home with the Trent Smith Invitational.
