Fort Dodge, IA (November 14, 2020) – In a season full of firsts, the women of Bucks Cross Country were able to compete as planned at the NJCAA DII National Championship. The Bucks had meets cancelled, rescheduled, and only got to run four times before the National Championship. However, that did not stop the women from becoming the NJCAA Region 2 Champions on the last day in October.
Previously competing in the NJCAA DI level, all Region 2 schools dropped to Division II. A drop in the division saw the Bucks enter the national rankings for the first time. Earlier this season, the Bucks were ranked as high as #7. Heading into Fort Dodge, the Bucks were ranked as the #11 team in the country.
After a cold 5K race, the Bucks would finish 11th. Winning the NJCAA DII National Championship would be Cowley College, with Heartland CC and Hawkeye CC finishing runner-up and third in the country, respectively. There were 122 runners in the race.
The individual National Champion was Lubna Suied from Cowley College with a time of 18:30.42. Leading the way for the Bucks was freshmen Kailey Pentz (Siloam Springs, AR) with a time of 20:56.84 placing 34th. Other Bucks Cross Country runners placed as shown below:
35th - Olivia Orr (Bryant, AR) – 20:57.44
74th - Darriana Franklin (Fort Smith, AR) – 22:11.02
90th - Emili Bravo (Springdale, AR) – 22:45.86
92nd - Haley Magueyal-Perez (Nashville, AR) – 23:13.67
99th - Shannan Gardner (Ward, AR) – 23:42.83
Complete race results can be found at https://results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/6696/xc-events/219396/live.
Looking ahead, the Bucks will enjoy some time off before preparing to run track in the Spring 2021 semester.
#GOBUCKS