Women’s Cross Country

Full Results Huntsville, Ala. – The Coconino Comet Women’s Cross Country team finished 17th place at the 2023 DII NJCAA Cross Country National Championships, with 5 women running season best times. Led by Breana Biggambler with a 71st place finish, the Comets scored 540 points, the same score awarded to Calhoun Community College, but thankfully the Coconino women won the head-to-head tiebreaker to finish 17th as a team. This was the second time in the program’s 3 seasons that the women have placed in the top 20 at the national championship. Coming into the Championships the CCC Women were ranked 19th, but with a strong showing was able to better that ranking by 2 places. Freshman Amber Woody ran a season best of 20:59 over the 5k distance to finish 89th overall and be the second comet across the finish line. Sierra Manygoats wasn’t far behind finishing in 93rd with a season best time of 21:04. Taking over 1 minute and 50 seconds off her next fastest time of the season was Talya Yazzie, placing 178th in 23:05. Rounding at the scoring was Ryanna Begay in 212th place in a time of 24:01. Janelle Stone was Coconino Community College’s final finisher in 223rd place in a time of 24:26, a time that is over 3 minutes faster than her next fastest time this season. “We ran the best we have all season today. The women truly showed up wanting to compete and perform at the highest level. Five of our women ran their season bests, and Breana ran up in the top ten for the majority of the race. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of young women”, said Head Coach Craig Hunt. With the conclusion of the 2023 DII NJCAA Cross Country National Championships, the comets have officially wrapped up their 2023 season. Cowley College won the National Championships with 66 points. Heartland Community College placed 2nd with 71 points, and Paradise Valley rounded out the top 3 with 115 points. In total, 38 teams and 279 individuals participated in the Women’s DII Cross Country National Championships.

Full Results Glendale, Ariz. – The Coconino Community College women’s cross country team placed 3rd at the 2023 Region 1 championships with 65 points and 3 individuals earning All-Region honors. CCC’s Amber Woody, Breana Biggambler, and Sierra Manygoats all earned third team All-Region honors as they led the comets to a 3rd place team finish overall. Woody was the Comets top women in 13th place, followed closely by Biggambler in 14th, and Manygoats in 15th. Woody crossed the finish line in a 5k time of 21:50, Biggambler and Manygoats followed in 22:07 and 22:13 respectively. Talya Yazzie and Ryanna Begay rounded out the scoring runners for CCC in 19th and 21st place. Janelle Stone finished in 22nd place. “I’m happy our women were able to come away from today with a podium finish and 3 individuals earning All-Region”, said Head Coach Craig Hunt when asked about the team’s performance. Coach Hunt went on to emphasize that the teams focus hasn’t been on the Regional Championships, but rather the National Championships on November 11th. “As a whole we showed up and performed today, but I know many of our athletes were running on tired legs after a hard week of training. All season we’ve had our focus be on the National Championships so whether we won or lost today we weren’t going to lose sight of our main goal. I’m confident that both our men’s and women’s team will perform their best once we taper down their training and have a little more rest in their legs”, stated Coach Hunt. The comets will compete next at the 2023 NJCAA Cross Country National Championships on November 11th at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

Full Results Riverside, Calif. – Coconino Community College’s Breana Biggambler established a fierce 6k school record of 23:20 at the Highlander Invitational hosted by University of California Riverside, as the team took on their biggest competition yet this season. The comets hit the road and competed at the Highlander Invitational in Riverside, California, where they met a competitive field with over 20 teams consisting of NCAA division I , division II, division III, NAIA, and NJCAA teams. Not only did they take on steep competition but they raced the 6k distance, a distance typically run at the NCAA level, compared to usual 5k distance run at the NJCAA level. Biggambler finished in 136th place with a strong time of 23:20 (6:15 per mile pace). She was followed by teammate Amber Woody in 25:25, and Sierra Manygoats in 25:48. Ryanna Begay and Janelle Stone were CCC’s 4th and 5th runners in times of 29:54 and 30:26 respectively. Here’s what Head Coach Craig Hunt had to say about the race, “We came out to Riverside to get out of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves. A race this size, with over 20 teams and 200 individuals, is just what we needed to help simulate our national championships and gain more experience in tough races, and I believe we did exactly that. Performance wise we had 2 school records set, one on the men’s side and another on the women’s side, so hopefully the athletes are leaving with some extra confidence.” Both the Men’s and Women’s cross country teams will compete next at the NJCAA Region 1 Championships at Heroes Regional Park in Glendale, Arizona on October 28th, hosted by Glendale Community College.

Full Results Coolidge, Ariz – Breana Biggambler finished 7th at the 2023 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, and helped the Comets to a 5th place team finish. Bettering her 11th place finish from last year, Biggambler finished 7th overall in a 5k time of 20:21. Her 7th place finish earned her All-ACCAC honors, recognition she earned last year as well. Sierra Manygoats was Coconino Community College’s second runner finishing in 21st place with a time of 21:38. Amber Woody placed 24th in a time of 21:42, followed by teammate Talya Yazzie in 36th place with a time of 25:27. Ryanna Begay was the fifth scorer for the Comets in 40th place in 27:51. Paradise Valley Community College won as a team with 35 total points. The CCC women’s cross country team will next race at the Highlander Invitational in Riverside, California on October 14th.

Full Results Prescott, Ariz – The Coconino Community College women’s cross country team competed at the Embry-Riddle AZ Invitational on a hilly and challenging course. Despite the challenging course and competition from 4 year universities CCC’s Breana Biggambler mixed it up at the front of the race early on and ultimately finished 9th in a time of 22:07 over 5k. Sierra Manygoats and Amber Woody worked together throughout the race to move up steadily to finish 15th and 16th. Ryanna Begay and Janelle Stone also worked together to finish in a respectable 22nd and 23rd place. Despite being directed off course, Talya Yazzie completed the race placing 27th and running further than 5k. On September 30th the CCC women will compete at the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Championships on the campus of Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona.

Full Results Flagstaff, Ariz – The Coconino Community College women’s cross country team opened up the 2023 season at the George Kyte Classic at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, Arizona hosted by Northern Arizona University. Racing over 2.5 miles the comet women were led by sophomore Breana Biggambler with her 17th place finish in the open division. Biggambler finished in a time of 17:44, over one and half minutes faster then she ran here last season. The next five finishers for CCC were all newcomers with Sierra Manygoats, Amber Woody, Talya Yazzie, Ryanna Begay, and Janelle Stone making their collegiate debuts. The Comets took on deep competition including NAU, University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University, and several other schools. Embry-Riddle Arizona took the team victory in the open division, while host NAU won the NCAA Division I race. The Comets will next race in Prescott, Arizona at Embry-Riddle University in the AZ Invitational on September 9th.

Full Results Coolidge, Ariz. – The Coconino Community College women’s cross country team finished runner-up at the NJCAA Region I Championships. CCC’s Hayley Burns wins the individual title in sprint finish. In their first season with a scoring team, and second season ever, the Comets’ race results are turning heads. The women made a statement today by finishing second at the Region I Championships, losing only to #2 nationally ranked team Mesa Community College. The comets placed five runners within the top 15 earning them All-Region honors. Burns out kicked Mesa’s Kate Brockman to win the Individual title in a 5k time of 18:03. Breana Biggambler, Whitney James, Nevaeh Scott, and Shaelyn Honahni finished 8th, 9th, 12th, and 14th respectively on their way to earning All-Region. The race also doubled at the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Championships where the women placed third. Burns’ victory makes her both the Region I and ACCAC individual champion. CCC’s Niki McCabe also competed, placing 20th in a time of 25:06. The comets will race next on November 12th in Tallahassee, Florida at the NJCAA Cross Country National Championships.

Full Results Mesa, Ariz – Coconino Community College’s Hayley Burns smashes her own school record with a 17:53 5k performance at the Mesa College XC Jamboree. The #7 nationally ranked comets faced #2 ranked Mesa Community College at the Mesa College XC Jamboree on their home course. The Thunderbirds took the victory but not without a fight from CCC. Burns led the charge with a 1st place finish in a course record and new school record of 17:53. She won with a margin of 21 seconds over Mesa’s Kate Brockman. CCC’s Nevaeh Scott and Whitney James both cracked the top 15 to finish 13th and 14th respectively. Shaelyn Honahni placed 31st overall, and Niki McCabe was the fifth runner placing 37th. Terrin Bia and Madison McCabe also competed for the comets placing 42nd and 49th. CCC’s team average time was 21:01 over the 5k distance. Mesa Community College won with a score of 28 points. Four year school Arizona Christian took second with 44 points. CCC took home third place with 76 points. The Coconino Community College women’s cross country team will next compete at the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, and NJCAA Region I Championships on October 29th at Central Arizona College.

Full Results Coolidge, Ariz. – Coconino Community College freshman Hayley Burns burst onto the scene with a 5k school record of 18:57. Burns took second place at the Vaquero CAMPY Invite and helped lead the team to a 4th place team finish. Burns’ time of 18:57 broke Shaelyn Honanhi’s previous school record of 20:14 set at the same race last year. CCC’s Nevaeh Scott finished 15th in a time of 20:22. Teammate Whitney James was close behind in 16th place in a time of 20:20:25. Honanhi was the fourth comet across the line in 23rd running 22:06. Sophomore Niki McCabe was CCC’s fifth runner placing 37th overall. “Hayley really showed her fitness today and made it known that she can compete at the highest level. It’s still early in the season and our training volume is still very high so I’m excited to see how everyone will perform later in the season with more training and rest.” said Head Coach Craig Hunt. Mesa Community College won the competition with 36 points. The comets will compete next at the Mesa College XC Jamboree in Mesa, Arizona, hosted by Mesa Community College on October 1st.