No. 2 NIACC men set to run at nationals
FORT DODGE - The NIACC men's and women's cross country meets will compete in the NJCAA Division II national meet on Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.
The NJCAA Division II women's 5-kilometer race is slated for 2:30 p.m. The men's 8K race will start at 3:15 p.m.
This is the first season since 2003 that the NJCAA national cross country meet will be broken down into three divisions.
The NIACC men enter the national meet ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II poll. Cowley College (Kan.) is ranked No. 1.
NIACC claimed the NJCAA Region XI Division II title on Nov. 1 in Fort Dodge. It was the third regional title for the NIACC men, who also claimed NJCAA Region XI titles on 2011 and 2012.
NIACC was led by freshman Melvin Kipkemboi, who claimed the regional title in a time of 25 minutes, 50 seconds on the 8K course. Kipkemboi was the first NIACC runner to win a regional title since Cody Manchester was the 2011 regional champion.
Other counting scores for the Trojans at the regional meet were Jorge Ruiz (2nd in 25:55), Vicente Correia (4th in 26:51), Jalen Petersen (5th in 27:14) and Janvier Irakoze (7th in 27:32).
Stephen Ringo, who was ninth at the regional meet, and Richard Marcoux, who was 10th at regionals, will also run for the Trojans Saturday at the national meet.
The NIACC women enter the national meet ranked No. 12.
At the regional meet in Fort Dodge on Nov. 1, NIACC freshman Sarah Bertry claimed the NJCAA Region XI Division II title in a time of 19:02 on the 5K course.
Bertry was the first NIACC woman to win a regional title since Anna Buenneke claimed the regional crown in 2011.
Bertry was selected as the ICCAC Division II female runner of the year. It was the third victory of the season for Bertry.
Bertry's personal best time of 18:26 ranks third on NIACC all-time 5K list.
Also for the Lady Trojans at the regional meet, sophomore Whitney Martin was seventh in a season-best time of 21:58, Addy Witt was ninth in a personal-best time of 22:31 and Lauren Kern was 10th in a personal-best time of 22:48.
IN THE RANKINGS
The NIACC men's cross country team was ranked first in two of the five USTFCCCA NJCAA Division II polls.
The Trojans were ranked 1st in the initial poll on Sept. 9 and the fourth poll on Oct. 21. They were ranked third in the Sept. 23 and Oct. 7 polls and second in the Nov. 14 poll.
The NIACC women enter Saturday's national meet ranked 12th. The Lady Trojans were ranked as high as sixth in the Sept. 9 poll.
AT NATIONALS
The NIACC men's and women's cross country teams will be competing in their 17th national meets. The NIACC men placed 22nd at the 2004 at the NJCAA Division I meet.
The highest finish at the national meet for the NIACC men was in 2011 when the Trojans placed fourth at the NJCAA Division I meet. Other top 10 finishes for the NIACC men at nationals were in 2012 (5th), 2014 (8th) and 2016 (9th).
Three NIACC men have earned NJCAA all-American honors.
Trent Smith was an honorable mention all-American selection with his 11th place finish in 2011. Imad Amenzou earned honorable mention all-American honors with his 14th-place finish in 2015 and Brian Jacques was a second-team pick with his 7th-place finish in 2017.
The NIACC women competed at the 2004 national meet but did not record a team score. The highest finish for the Lady Trojans was when they placed 13th in 2013 and 2014.
NIACC's Anna Buenneke and Hannah Palmeter both earned NJCAA all-Americans twice.
Buenneke was a second-team all-American in 2010 when she placed eighth and was a first-team selection in 2011 when she placed second.
Palmeter was a second-team selection in 2013 when she placed sixth and was a first-team selection in 2014 when she placed third.
HISTORY LESSON
From 1959 to 1990, there was one division for the NJCAA national men's cross country meet. The first national meet was held in Alfred, N.Y. SUNY Cobleskill (N.Y.) was crowned the first NJCAA cross country team champion.
From 1991 to 2003, the NJCAA was broken down into Division I, II and III.
From 2004 to 2019, the NJCAA held a Division I and Division III races at separate sites.
The first NJCAA national women's cross country meet was held in 1976 in Farmingdale, N.Y., with CC of Alleghany County (N.Y.) being crowned the team champion.
The NJCAA women also broke down into three divisions from 1991 to 2003 and were also separated into Division I and Division III from 2004 to 2019.
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
9:30 a.m. – NJCAA Division I women's 5K
10:15 a.m. – NJCAA Division I men's 8K
Noon – NJCAA Division III women's 5K
12:45 p.m. – NJCAA Division III men's 8K
2:30 p.m. – NJCAA Division II women's 5K
3:15 p.m. – NJCAA Division II men's 5K
NIACC MEN'S SEASON BESTS
Vicente Correia – 26:06 (10-16-20)
Janvier Irakoze – 26:45 (10-16-20)
Melvin Kipkemboi – 25:17 (10-16-20)
Richard Marcoux – 27:38 (10-16-20)
Jalen Petersen – 27:14 (11-1-20)
Stephen Ringo – 27:41 (11-1-20)
Jorge Ruiz – 25:20 (10-16-20)
