Posted: Nov 08, 2023

Cross Country Prepares for Nationals

Northwest Tech Men's Cross Country had their send-off for Nationals on Wednesday. They'll be competing in Huntsville, AL, for the NJCAA National Championships and NJCAA Half-Marathon Championships. This year's cross-country team has been a nationally top-10-ranked team throughout the season, finishing 3rd at this year's Regional Championships.

Competing Runners:

Kabelo Maja, from Polokwane, South Africa, is the Mavericks top runner this year, finishing 4th overall at the Region VI Championships. Kabelo is a freshman in the Business Technology program.

Lucky Maila, from Pretoria, South Africa, is the Mavs second-place runner, finishing 12th overall at the Regional Championships. Lucky is a freshman in the Precision Agriculture program.

Daniel Cornelissen, from Pretoria, South Africa, has been one of Tech's most improved runners this year, going from the Mav's fifth-place runner, up to finishing 3rd on the team. Daniel is a freshman in Engineering Technology.

Ronin Rybnikar, also from Pretoria, South Africa, is also a competitive runner for the Mavericks, finishing 24th at Regionals. Ronin is also a freshman in the Engineering program.

Sibonokuhle Thwala, from Johannesburg, South Africa, has been a good runner for Northwest Tech who's times have been set back by injury through much of the season. Despite that, however, he has played a vital role in the team's scoring.

Edgar Kosgei and Dennis Kibet, both from Eldoret, Kenya, will also be competing and are most likely to be the back-up runners for the Mavericks. Edgar and Dennis are both majoring in the Medical Assistant program.

"The season has been good even with the injuries we've had," said Coach Sambu. "From the beginning we’ve been working together, and I'm happy with how they adjusted to my training program. The team is excited and we are hoping for good results."

Northwest Tech will be competing in both the NJCAA Cross-Country National Championship and the Half Marathon Championship on Saturday the 11th, and Tuesday the 14th. You can watch live on the NJCAA Network or check the live results at live.xpresstiming.com.