Huntsville, Ala. – The Coconino Community College Men’s Cross Country team finished 10th place at the 2023 DII NJCAA Cross Country National Championships hosted at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama. Their 10th place finish is the best team placement in program history. Additionally, CCC’s Ryan Hatch crossed the finish line 5th overall becoming CCC’s highest individual finisher ever.
In the biggest race of the season, Freshman Ryan Hatch, rose to the occasion to finish as the top Freshman and 5th place overall at the National Championships. With his 5th place finish Hatch becomes CCC’s first male to earn All-American honors, becomes the highest individual finisher ever in school history, and lowers the 8k school record to 25:11.
“Ryan (Hatch) ran out of his mind today. He put himself in a position to do something big and that’s exactly what happened. I’m excited to see what Ryan can do moving forward as I know this is just the beginning for him. He’s come a long way the last 10 months and this was the performance he needed to prove to himself he can compete with the best”, said Head Coach Craig Hunt.
As a team, the CCC men placed 10th overall with a score of 273, their highest team finish in school history and 13 spots better than last year. In this one race, 4 men ran faster than last year’s 8k school record. The Comets entered the Championships ranked 15th nationally and were able to better that by 5 spots.
Kevin Pawesiema Jr. finished as CCC’s second runner in 45th place, one spot off of All-American honors, in a time of 26:37. Freshman Tanner Dugi wasn’t far behind in 47th place in a time of 26:42. In 71st place was CCC’s Kyler Williams in a finishing time of 27:17 over the 8k distance. Rounding out the comet’s scoring runners was Taylor Taliman with a 134th place finish in 28:28. Jehovan Flores finished in 30:11 for 198th place, and Hayden Williams placed 246th in 32:28.
“Overall, both the men’s and women’s teams had very impressive days. Of the 13 runners we had compete, 11 of them ran either a season best or lifetime best performance. It truly is a testament to the training we implement and the belief our athletes have knowing that when it matters most, they will be prepared to run their best. We’ll definitely celebrate our accomplishments today, but ultimately we’ll continue to look ahead at what’s to come as our program continues to grow,” stated Head Coach Craig Hunt.
Lansing Community College won the National Championships with a score of 73 points. Heartland Community College placed 2nd with 78 points, and Daytona State College rounded out the podium with 102 points. In the men’s race, 38 teams and 291 individuals competed at the National Championships.
