Cowley men place fifth, women eighth at national cross country championships

Competing in the largest field of runners in NJCAA history, the Cowley College cross country teams capped another solid season Saturday at the NJCAA National Cross Country Championships in Ina, Ill. The Tiger men finished fifth in the nation, while the Lady Tigers placed eighth.

The Tiger men were just seven points out of finishing in the top-three and only 25 points behind national champion Lansing (MI) Community College.

“As a team, our men and women ran very good,” Cowley head coach Mark Phillips said. “It was hard not to be a little disappointed on the bus ride back, but these kids competed so hard that you can’t be disappointed. This was the biggest, deepest, toughest national meet there has ever been.”

For the second straight year Daniel Maina finished second in the nation and earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors. Maina (23:30) nearly was the national champion as he lost in a photo finish to Rend Lake’s Ben Cheruiyot (23:29).

Maina trailed Cheruiyot by about 75 meters with one mile remaining before gradually closing the gap. Maina finishes an unbelievable two years at Cowley as the most accomplished runner in the program’s history.

“What Daniel has done here it’s almost unfathomable to think anybody could repeat that,” Phillips said. “He never finished worse than third at any national meet and helped give our program legitimacy.”

Stanley Mugo finished his cross country career by placing 19th with a time of 25:09.
Mauricio Morales ran a great race and earned Coaches Association All-American honors by placing 32nd with a time of 26:03. Johnny Purvis (26:16) and Brett Koehn (26:29) also earned Coaches Association All-American honors as they placed 41st and 46th, respectively.

It was a terrific year for the men’s team as they won its second consecutive conference title and first ever region championship.

Cowley sophomore Jeniffer Cherono earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors for the second year in a row as she placed 13th with a time of 17:56 in the women’s race. Irene Kosgei (18:43) ran just days after having a wisdom tooth pulled and finished her cross country career by placing 31st.

“Irene went out there and gave it her all, and it was a wonderful performance by Jeniffer,” Phillips said.

Ashley Cronin (18:55) placed 34th and garnered Coaches Association All-American honors.

“Ashley was steady as a rock for us all year,” Phillips said.

Iowa Central Community College captured the women’s national championship as they finished 34 points better than national runner-up Butler Community College.

Cowley men’s results: (2) Daniel Maina, 23:30, NJCAA First-Team All-American; (19) Stanley Mugo, 25:09; (32) Mauricio Morales, 26:03, Coaches Association All-American; (41) John Purvis, 26:16, Coaches Association All-American; (46) Brett Koehn, 26:29, Coaches Association All-American; (77) Gilbert Manzanares, 27:06; (91) Justin Cacaro, 27:18.

Cowley women’s results: (13) Jeniffer Cherono, 17:56, NJCAA First-Team All-American; (31) Irene Kosgei, 18:43; (34) Ashley Cronin, 18:55, Coaches Association All-American; (82) Christy Buller, 19:44; (98) Bethany Schmidt, 20:03; (129) Janee’ Gabbard, 20:30; (183) Kari Rinehart, 21:52.

Top-10 men’s team scores: (1) Lansing, 111; (2) Iowa Central, 120; (3) Central Arizona, 129; (4) Rend Lake, 133; (5) Cowley, 136; (6) Paradise Valley, 176; (7) South Plains, 207; (8) Butler, 228; (8) Johnson County, 285; (10) Iowa Western, 353.

Top-10 women’s scores: (1) Iowa Central, 111; (2) Butler, 145; (3) El Paso, 150; (4) South Plains, 166; (5) Central Arizona, 166; (6) Pima, 177; (7) Johnson County, 205; (8) Cowley, 243; (9) Rend Lake, 251; (10) Lansing, 339.