Poteau, Oklahoma - The Rich Mountain Men's Cross Country team competed at the CASC Open at Carl Albert State College on the morning of September 20th. The early morning start didn't phase the Bucks as they record their second PERFECT SCORE of the season to win the CASC Open. The men competed against 20 other runners from Region II opponents, Redlands Community College, Carl Albert State College, and Connors State College, in the 8K race.
To achieve a perfect score, a team must finish with all placing runners in the top 5, and the Bucks did just that while dominating the field. Jordan Foster (Mena, AR) lead the field by almost one full minute and the entire way for the Bucks with a time of 28:48.9. Closely behind were the rest of the Bucks to round out the top 5. In the 29 minute range, Clint Buck (Mena, AR) and Asael Sanchez (De Queen, AR) finished in 2nd and 3rd with times of 29:39.8 and 29:59.9 respectively. Mena's own Cross Hughes and Robert McIntyre sealed the perfect score with times of 30:24.1 and 30:29.2.
The Bucks had 8 total competitors in the race and all finished in the Top 12. Relands CC (6th and 11th) and Carl Albert (7th and 8th) both finished with 2 runners apiece in the top 12. To round out the day for the Bucks, Ethan Sanders (Donaldson, AR), Osman Flores (Rogers, AR), and JP Rojas (Paris, TX) all finished with times of 31:34.1, 31:59.1, annd 32:44.1 respectively.
Coach Shores was all smiles for her team; however, she knows there's still a lot of work to do. "For a second year program, I couldn't be more excited. We knew we recruited a strong group, but we had to find our identity as a team. Two perfect scores on the year is great, but we have our eyes on the Region II title. There's still a bunch of work to be done to achieve that goal." The NJCAA Region II Regional will be in Mena at the Lion's Club Disc Golf Course. So, the Bucks will have the home field advantage of training on the course routinely.
The men will be back in action at the Chile Pepper Classic in Fayetteville, AR on October 5th.
#GOBUCKS