FORT DODGE, Iowa- The Triton Cross Country team hosted the 2017 NJCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Lakeside Golf Course. The Tritons have had luck winning a National title while at home, but have never done it with both the women and men in the same year. 2017 would prove to be the year, as Iowa Central won both the men's and women's National Championships. The Men won with a score of 65 points. The Women, who's score was the 3rd lowest score in the past 14 years, won with a score of 52 points.
"I knew our teams were good and had a good chance to win, but I think the cold temperatures gave us a small assist as well. A combination of that, the home course and crowd, and the determination of our two squads made this day really special," said Head coach Dee Brown.
The Iowa Central men's team claimed its third national championship in the last four years. The Tritons as a team led at every half-mile checkpoint on the course. Ezekiel Kipchirchir led the race from the 3.5 mile mark until the 4.5 checkpoint. Southern Idaho's Eric Fitzpatrick (24:45) edged out Kipchirchir (24:48.5) in the final half-mile to win the individual title.
Karim Achengli (24:51.6) crossed the line 3rd. Achengli was also named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year. Jhordan Ccope finshed 15th overall with a time of 25:34.5. Josh Jacques (25:48.2) and Gemechu Meskele (26:02.3) rounded out the Triton scoring with finishes of 18th and 27th to equate to the team score of 65 points. Innocent Murwanashyaka (26:07.3) and Mark Whalen (27:22.6) finished in 30th and 114th respectively. Though Murwanashyaka wasn't a scoring runner, the Tritons still would have won if their 2-6 runner's scores were used.
"Our men got out hard from the gun, they were highly motivated to regain that title. Even though our #3-#6 guys had some health concerns, they really fought hard and stepped up for each other. That's the great thing about this team, if one guy isn't having a great race, somebody else will jump in and help them out," Brown said.
The Iowa Central women added another national championship to their cross country dynasty. Today's win marks the sixth time in just ten years the Tritons have lifted the trophy at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships.
Freshman Adva Cohen made a repeat of the Region XI Championships two weeks prior on the same course and finished in 17 minutes and 24 seconds, nearly 20 seconds ahead of Garden City's Sandra Szpott's mark of 17:43.9. Cohen becomes the third different and fourth overall individual champion in program history for the Tritons, all coming within the last five years. Cohen's win secured her USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year, as well as being voted USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year.
All five of the Tritons' scoring runners finished 17th or better. Marion Bartilol finished fifth at 18:03.0. Aaliyah Regg Wajid (18:37.3), Agnes Mansaray (18:47.7), and Abeba Sullivan (18:49.0) rounded out the Iowa Central scoring with places of 13th, 16th, and 17th for a combined team score of 52 points. Marta Lukjaniuk (18:58.1) and Katy Pfile (19:03.8) finished in 24th and 28th respectively, and both of these places would've been high enough to secure a Triton win had they been used in the point scoring.
"Our women did exactly what they did all year long, they moved up the entire race, always keeping the next runner within their sights. To have all seven girls in the top-30 is pretty special," said Brown.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team, not just the athletes that competed today. The 2017 squad is a great group of individuals. Winning two national titles on our home course is a dream come true. We tried in both 2013 and 2015 and both times came away with a first and second place finish. This double-win is as much a victory for the 2017 teams as it is for those other squads and all other Triton Cross Country teams that have come before us."
Results: http://www.ictritons.com/sports/mxc/2017-18/files/men.pdf