Tiger men’s cross country team places seventh at national meet
With four runners earning Coaches Association All-American honors at the NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Championships held Saturday in Huntsville, AL, the Tiger men placed seventh out of 38 schools.
The Tiger men were led by freshman Miquel Cruz placing 16th with a time of 25:43.40, while Nathan Pestka of Paradise Valley Community College won the 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:49.10.
"We ran solid, but we knew it was going to be packed up front," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "I told the guys that we can run a solid race and still finish seventh, because of the depth of the teams coming in. Any of the top teams that were ranked 1-7 could win it. Since there was so many solid even leveled teams we had to get out in good positioning. We did not do that as well as we wanted. Coming through the first mile in 13th place as a team, throughout the whole race we kept progressing, but we ran out of steam and time. We never were up with the group we wanted to be in."
Along with Cruz, Cowley's Austin (William) Schaeffer, Mason Bickle, and Mason Blochowiak earned Coaches Association All-American honors. Bickle, Blochowiak, and Schaeffer are sophomores and ran their final race for the cross country team.
"It's a little bit disappointing end for the fellas, but those things happen," Rieth said. "I am really proud of our guys and it does not take away from what they accomplished this season. Especially with the whole team battling the flu the last two weeks of the season."
Lansing Community College took home the team title, finishing five points better than second place Heartland Community College.
Cowley Men's Results: Miquel Cruz, 25:43.40, 16th; Austin Schaeffer, 26:03.30, 30th; Mason Bickle, 26:11.80, 32nd; Mason Blochowiak, 26:25.40, 35th; Randy Rojas-Mendez, 26:48.10, 51st; Kevin Rivas-Guillen, 27:00.70, 56th; Deshawn Douglas, 27:43.10, 98th.
Top-10 men's team scores: (1) Lansing, 73; (2) Heartland, 78; (3) Daytona State College, 102; (4) Paradise Valley, 105; (5) Wallace State, 114; (6) Mesa, 140; (7) Cowley, 147; (8) Bismarck State, 235; (9) Allen, 266; (10) Coconino, 273.
Photos provided by RyAnn Myers