EL DORADO – Putting together their best performance of the season, the number two nationally ranked Cloud County Community College women's cross country team left little doubt about who the best team within NJCAA Region VI was with a runaway victory for the program's first NJCAA Region VI and Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division crowns on Friday.
Just a year removed from not posting a team score at the Region VI Championships, Cloud County put together a remarkable performance with five runners posting top-10 finishes to earn All-Region status and blow away the field with just 24 points in the Region VI Division I race. CCCC's next closest competitor in the nine-team competition would be third-ranked Colby CC, but a 47 point gap would exist between the two as the Trojans finished with 71 points and seventh-ranked Dodge City taking third with 76 total points.
"Today has been a whirlwind as we knew the girls had a good chance to win the Region VI Championship and make program history and they really made it a team effort to contribute towards that today," said head coach Drew Mahin in a post-race interview. "Having six girls posting personal-records showed how amazing of day it was and despite only having two girls from last year with postseason experience the bond the team has created to make this happen is quite special.
"We knew we had a special group this year and I know we're stronger as a team so I need to make sure to let the girls enjoy the next two weeks as we prepare for the National Championships.
"Things such as avoiding COVID, injuries, weather, and training issues are things that we don't control but we also have to make sure that we don't let these things affect other aspects such as how we prepare for our final race of the year.
"As long as we can get to the starting line on November 14th, I know our girls will take care of business as this has been a special group that feels like a family in all aspects."
Division I Individual champion Patricia Koma would put together her best performance thus far by breaking the 19-minute mark in the 5K race by posting a time of 18:11.28, over 40 seconds better than second-place finisher Abigael Kemboi of Colby. The win was the best finish by a CCCC women's runner since 2015 when Stephanie Barrett would finish second overall as Koma would win her third race of the year. The T-Birds would then have Maryse Mbenoun (19:18.97), Kya Johnson (19:21.40), and Pamela Milano (19:25.23) finish four-five-six while Ludjenie Mondesir would cap off the scoring for Cloud County with an eighth-place finish (19:39.77) as all four would post personal-best times at the race with Johnson and Mbenoun both earning all-region honors for the second straight year.
"Today truly was a great feeling to finish as an all-region performer," said Kya Johnson. "The team bond we've been able to make happen and the opportunity to want to perform better for someone besides yourself is something that makes you push yourself to limits you haven't reached before."
What's next?
With a Region Championship now in hand, Cloud County will look to cement their place in program history in two weeks as the T-Birds will travel to Fort Dodge, Iowa to run in the 2020 NJCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships. The meet is being hosted by top-ranked Iowa Central Community College as the T-Birds and Tritons will look to go head-to-head for the first time this season in the final meet of the year.
National Championship Notes: Iowa Central has won the last three NJCAA National Championships, including in 2017 which was the last time that ICCC hosted the championship meet. The last time a KJCCC team earned a top-three team finish at the National Championships was in 2017 when Cowley finished third while CCCC hasn't posted a team score at the national meet since 2012.
--cloudtbirds.com--