NMJC Men Finish Second in WJCAC and Region V
No. 4 El Paso CC edged the No. 3 NMJC men's cross country team Saturday morning to win the Region V and WJCAC title by a narrow margin. The T-Birds fell two points shy of the Region V title and only one point from claiming a WJCAC trophy.
The Tejanos finished the Region V Championship with a total team score of 37, while the T-Birds finished second with a team total score of 39. El Paso CC took home the WJCAC crown with a team total score of 32. NMJC sat right behind the Tejanos finishing second with a team total score of 33.
Freshman Tomas Vega was the top finisher for the T-Birds placing third in the men's 8k with a time of 23:42.60. This is the first meet this season where Tomas has finished higher than his brother German.
Freshman German Vega registered a fourth-place finish of 23:50.9, sophomore Evans Pololet placed sixth in the race with a time of 23:59.20, sophomore Chris Korir came in eighth place running a time of 24:17.80, and sophomore David Hernandez rounded out the team scoring in 18th place running for a time of 26:35.00.
Tomas Vega, German Vega, Evans Pololet, and Chris Korir earned themselves All-Region honors by finishing in the Top 10. Tomas Vega, Evans Pololet, Chris Korir, and David Hernandez each ran their career-best race in Saturday's meet at Harry McAdams Park.
Head coach Jeff Becker was disappointed with finishing one spot behind El Paso, but said he likes where his team stands as they gear up for nationals next week in Tallahassee.
"We came up just short on the men's side," Becker said. "But what I liked about the men was that as the race started El Paso had us beat early on in the meet and I was able to let the guys know that and they made the adjustments we needed."
"We had the meet won until right at the end when our number five runner Alex Keter caught a cramp in his leg in the final 800m and had to hobble into the finish. Still, we came up just two points short from a very good El Paso team so it should be exciting to race them again at nationals."
The NMJC men's cross country team will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. next week to run in the NJCAA Cross Country Nationals at Apalachee Regional Park on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 11:15 a.m. ET. The men will race in the Half Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. ET in Tallahassee, Fla. as well.
