RICHMOND, VA – Only three days after the NJCAA Cross Country Championships, six men and one woman finished the NJCAA Half Marathon Championships held at Dorey Park on Tuesday morning. The half marathon can be run as individuals or with a three-person team. The men fielded a complete team and finished 17^th of 27 teams.

The Tritons were led by Evan Paplow's 57^th place finish of 171 runners, in a time of 1:14:53.4. This was Paplow's first half marathon, and he moved up 14 positions throughout the race from 1.5 miles until the 13.1 mile finish. "I felt good about the half marathon. The last couple of miles were challenging but you need to push through and not quit," said Paplow.

Completing the scoring team for Iowa Central were two sophomore co-captains, Ben Reyes and Chase Deiter. Reyes ran a time of 1:17:36.6 to finish 84^th overall. His time was a 9-minute improvement from last year's competition in Huntsville, AL. Deiter finished in 101^st place with a time of 1:09:08.7 in his debut.

Also running for the men's team were sophomore Alex Aguilar Camarena and freshmen Jonah Jahnke and Landon Fuller. Aguilar Camarena finished in 135^th place with a time of 1:23:09. He ran a personal best by over 11 minutes.

Running in their first half marathon event, Jahnke and Fuller finished in 137^th and 142^nd places, respectively. Jahnke ran a time of 1:23:53.2 while Fuller completed the race in 1:25:04.5.

"I felt good about the race, it was my first time running a half marathon and I enjoyed it. Hopefully, I will do it again next year," said Jahnke.

Fuller stated, "It was an amazing experience for me personally, getting the chance to travel and compete at a national event was a surreal feeling and the race itself was also pretty fun to be a part of."

The lone finisher for the women's team was freshman Abbi Hutchinson of International Falls, MN.  Hutchinson, running her first half marathon, placed herself into the chase pack from the start and ran an extremely competitive race. Of 116 finishers, Hutchinson crossed the line in 16^th place to earn NJCAA Coaches Association All-America honors. Her time of 1:25:58.3 is tenth all-time in school history.

"I feel proud of my first ever half marathon because my hard work and dedication paid off. I'm also motivated and excited to keep pushing myself for what is next," said Hutchinson.

The 2025 NJCAA Cross Country Championships and Half Marathon Championships will be hosted by Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, IA, November 8^th and 11^th.