T-Bird (M-Half Marathon) Earns 3rd Place Finish in Iowa
The T-Bird men's half marathon team finished third with 36 points at the 2025 NJCAA Men's Half Marathon Championships on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at Lakeside Municipal GC.
NMJC ended the morning six points behind second place Iowa Central and 27 points back of national champion Iowa Western.
Mohammed Mrahi led the Thunderbirds with a ninth-place finish in the 13.1 mile race. The sophomore finished his first half marathon in 1:06:42.90. Mrahi earned USTFCCCA All-American honors for the first time in his career with the placement.
Emmanuel Kimaiyo also picked up USTFCCCA All-American honors with his 11th-place finish in Fort Dodge, IA. The sophomore ran a 1:07:27.10 on Tuesday which was 1:38 faster than his time in 2024.
Addiso Bitew overcame an early fall in the race to place 20th overall with a time of 1:09:24.30. The finish was enough to earn himself his first USTFCCCA All-American recognition. Bitew was the last runner to count toward the team score with only three runners compared to the five we see during the cross country season.
Freshman Ronald Jecky placed 27th with a time of 1:10:44.80. Jecky was the final USTFCCA All-American.
Freshman Israel Takap improved on his finish by 2:12 to post a 1:12:07.10 in 41st place. Elmehdi Bouchouata was the final runner on the course as he finished in 76th place with a time of 1:15:40.60.
Nathan Bonavida had to pull out during the race and did not finish. The T-Birds end the half marathon season on the podium as the third-best team in the NJCAA.
