CONCORDIA — Coming off their first NJCAA Region VI Title in program history, the Cloud County Community College Cross Country teams are set to hit the road and make the long trek to Albuquerque, N.M., for the 2019 NJCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.
Nine total athletes will make the trip to compete this weekend as the T-Bird men will kick things off at 11 a.m. Mountain Time at the University of New Mexico North Golf Course for the 8K race to determine this year’s National Champion. The CCCC women will have three individuals competing in the women’s 5K race, which will take place at noon Mountain Time with an awards ceremony to follow the conclusion of the two races.
On the men’s side, the T-Birds are hoping to make even more history and cap off what has already been a memorable season as Cloud County remained atop the final United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association NJCAA Top-25 poll which was released on Wednesday. CCCC has been ranked number one all season long, and is looking to unseat Iowa Central and Central Arizona as the two squads will enter as the number two and number four teams despite finishing either first or second in each of the past six years. Cloud County has squared off against Iowa Central on a couple of occasions head-to-head this year, with the T-Birds finishing ahead of the Tritons each time.
The Cloud County women have come on strong as of late as the T-Birds had two runners finish in the top-25 and three in the top-25 at the Region VI Championships for the first time since 2012. All-Region performers Kya Johnson and Maryse Mbenoun will both look to have career days on Saturday along with Tanya Harcum who has been able to put together a strong push to end the year.