NIACC's Ruiz earns ICCAC weekly honor
MASON CITY - NIACC sophomore Jorge Ruiz was selected as the ICCAC Division II male cross country athlete of the week for the week of Sept. 21-27.
Ruiz claimed the individual title last Friday in a time of 27 minutes, 15 seconds at the Southwestern Spartan Classic and led the No. 3 Trojans to the team title.
Ruiz' highest finish in a collegiate race before the Spartan Classic victory was an 11th-place finish at the NJCAA Region XI meet in 2019. He was the first NIACC runner to win a race since Abdiaziz Wako won the 2018 Trent Smith Invitational.
Ruiz' 2020 season:
Season highlights: Ruiz was selected as the ICCAC Division II cross country male athlete of the week for the week of Sept. 21-27.
Grand View Open (5K) - 16:15 (5th). Grand View Viking Invitational (8K) - 27:17 (9th). Southwestern Spartan Classic (8K) - 27:15 (1st).
2019 season:
Augustana Twilight (4-mile) - 21:06 (117th). St. Olaf College Invitational (8K) - 27:54 (20th). Arkansas Chile Pepper (8K) - 26:59 (264th). Trent Smith Invitational (8K) - 26:41 (13th). NJCAA Region XI meet - 25:30 (11th). NJCAA Division I national meet (8K) - 26:21 (54th).
Career bests:
5K - 16:15 (9-5-20)
8K - 25:30 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-25-19).
