A long season came to an end for the Barton men’s and women’s cross country teams Saturday at the NJCAA Championships at Prairie Trials Golf Course in El Dorado.
It was a season that saw both squads fight injuries all year long – especially in the later stages.
The men were only able to start four runners at the Championships, keeping them from obtaining a team score.
The women did not run anyone. The team was already thin in numbers then some late season injuries shut the squad down entirely for the NJCAA Championships.
The Cougar men were led by Ignacio Calderon, taking 154th out of the field of 298 runners. Calderon ran a 28:13.56.
Felix Marquez and Corban Ogle stayed close to each other during the 8K run. Marquez finished 238th with a time of 30:07.16. Tucker was four spots behind in 30:26.22 for 242nd. Rounding out the Barton runners was Lukas Tucker in 272nd with a time of 31:50.55.
Central Arizona won the event with 49 points. Only Iowa Central was even close to the champions, taking second with 69 points. South Plains (Texas) was third with 112 points.
Allen County led all Jayhawk schools, taking fourth with 154. Also in the top 10 were Butler in sixth with 249 and Johnson County in 10th with 392.
Gilbert Kigen of Central Arizona dominated the individual competition with a time of 23:47.45. Cloud County’s Moses Dirane was runner-up in a time of 24:25.31. Jorge Perez of Central Arizona was third in 24:28.34.
On the women’s side, Lansing Community College out of Michigan won the event with a team total of 103. They just kept Central Arizona from the sweep. The Vaqueras were just three points behind at 106. Also on the heels of Lansing was El Paso, also with 106 points. Central Arizona took second on the sixth runner tie-breaker over El Paso.
Allen County was the highest Jayhawk finisher in seventh at 206. Cowley (294) and Colby (348) finished ninth and 10th respectively.
Leanne Pompeani of Iowa Central won the individual title at 17:11.34. Susan Ejore of Monroe (NY) was a distant second in 17:30.17. Sandra Szpott of New Mexico Military was third in 17:45.96.
No one from the Jayhawk finished in the top 10. The highest finisher was Colby’s Winnie Kibet in 13th in a time of 18:32.85.
Men’s NJCAA Championships
Prairie Trails Golf Course 8K
Team Scores
1 Central Arizona 49
2 Iowa Central 62
3 South Plains 112
4 Allen 154
5 Gillette 193
6 Butler 249
7 Paradise Valley 321
8 Lansing 340
9 North Iowa 380
10 Johnson 392
Individual Top 10
1 Gilbert Kigen, Central Arizona, 23:47.45
2 Moses Dirane, Cloud, 24:25.31
3 Jorge Perez, Central Arizona, 24:28.34
4 Karim Achengli, Iowa Central, 24:32.25
5 Felix Kosgei, South Plains, 24:51.09
6 Ashenafi Hatte, Iowa Central, 24:51.72
7 Erick Rotich, Gillette, 25:11.58
8 Omer Almog, Iowa Central, 25:15.28
9 Anthony Masayesva, Central Arizona, 25:23.44
10 Omero Rodriguez, South Plains, 25:25.93
Barton results
154 Ignacio Calderon, 28:13.56
238 Felix Marquez, 30:07.16
242 Corban Ogle, 30:26.22
272 Lukas Tucker, 31:50.55
Women’s NJCAA Championships
Prairie Trails Golf Course 5K
Team Scores
1 Lansing 103
2 Central Arizona 106
3 El Paso 106
4 Iowa Central 111
5 Mesa 139
6 Gillette 203
7 Allen 206
8 South Plains 261
9 Cowley 294
10 Colby 348
Individual Top 10
1 Leanne Pompeani, Iowa Central, 17:11.34
2 Susan Ejore, Monroe College, 17:30.17
3 Sandra Szpott, New Mexico Military, 17:45.96
4 Kaitlyn Volk, Central Arizona, 17:51.63
5 Shalet Mitei, El Paso, 18:05.77
6 Rose Jebet, El Paso, 18:12.11
7 Nokuthula Dlamini, Monroe, 18:13.84
8 Shanieke Watson, Iowa Western, 18:15.81
9 KaitlynShoemaker, Allen, 18:17.63
10 Seselia Dala, South Plains, 18:20.27
Barton results
Did not run
