<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1605394240139.png" alt="Image courtesy <a href="http://cloudtbirds.com">cloudtbirds.com</a>" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy <a href="http://cloudtbirds.com">cloudtbirds.com</a></figcaption>
 </figure>FORT DODGE, Iowa - In what can only be described as an epic battle featuring two top-10 teams going toe-to-toe for the entire race, the number two-ranked Cloud County Community College women's cross country team would fall just one point short of winning a National Title to finish as 2020 NJCAA Division I National Runner-Up at the Cross Country Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa on Saturday.Totaling 76 points with four runners finishing inside the top-20, Cloud County would trail only National Champion Ranger College who would finish with 75 points to edge the T-Birds in one of the closest NJCAA Championship races to ever occur. CCCC would hold the lead through the two-mile mark of the 5K race before seeing the Lady Rangers grab the lead by a single point and manage to fend off the T-Birds. Ranger's scoring breakdown would go 8-12-13-20-22 while Cloud County would earn scores of 2-14-15-17-28 for their total. Third-place College of Southern Idaho would round out the top-three with 104 points while Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference member Colby would take fourth with 122 points.&nbsp;Earning a national runner-up finish to cap off the season would be sophomore&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/koma_patricia_w33r" target="_blank">Patricia Koma</a>&nbsp;as the 2020 United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association NJCAA Division I Central Region Athlete of the Year would post a time of 18:46.16, trailing only Faith Linga of Iowa Western who became just the third women's runner to ever win back-to-back individual titles at the NJCAA level with a time of 18:10.90. Sophomores&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/johnson_kya_68j1" target="_blank">Kya Johnson</a>&nbsp;(19:52.05) and&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/mbenoun_maryse_ekxv" target="_blank">Maryse Mbenoun</a>&nbsp;(19:52.71) would finish back-to-back in 14th and 15th to give the T-Birds three All-American status runners while&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/milano_pamela_cjbz" target="_blank">Pamela Milano</a>&nbsp;would take 17th with a time of 19:58.01.&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/mondesir_ludjenie_52w6" target="_blank">Ludjenie Mondesir</a>&nbsp;would add a 28th-place finish with a time of 20:31.12 while&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/hoover_abbey_2450" target="_blank">Abbey Hoover</a>&nbsp;(39th, 20:47.93) and&nbsp;<a href="http://cloudcountycc.prestosports.com/sports/wxc/2020-21/bios/holthaus_emma_1097" target="_blank">Emma Holthaus</a>&nbsp;(21:16.15) also ran in the meet for CCCC.&nbsp;"The experience in 2020 was a roller coaster and I'm so happy our team got a full season and a championship race to compete in" said head coach Drew Mahin in a post-meet interview. "I felt like we have grown so much in the last 95-plus days and to come home with so many All-Americans and a team trophy is something I'll never forget."The race caps off a season that saw the T-Birds finish no-worse than second in any that they competed in while winning the program's first NJCAA Region VI Division I and KJCCC West Division Titles. The three All-American runners (Koma, Johnson, and Mbenoun) are the first since Stephanie Barrett in 2015.&nbsp;--<a href="http://cloudtbirds.com">cloudtbirds.com</a>--

Historic season comes to end with national runner-up finish for CCCC women