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Fri, Sep. 01 Final
Men's Cross Country
at Terry Masterson Twilght Classic
Hutchinson, KS
Results
Sat, Sep. 16 TBA
Men's Cross Country
at Greeno/Dirksen Invite
Lincoln, NE
Results
Sat, Sep. 30 TBA
Men's Cross Country
at Ted Castaneda XC Classic
Colorado Springs, CO
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Sat, Oct. 14 TBA
Men's Cross Country
at Firestarter Classic
Iola, KS
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Fri, Oct. 27 TBA
Men's Cross Country
at Region VI Championships
Iola, KS
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Sat, Nov. 11 TBA
Men's Cross Country
at NJCAA National Championships
Huntsville, AL
Results Results
Northwest Kansas Technical College
Posted: Nov 02, 2015

Halloween brings more tricks than treats for Mavericks

October 31st, 2015 Johnson County Community College, Olathe, KS

On a cool and dreary Halloween morning, the Northwest Tech Maverick men and woman ran at the NJCAA Region VI Championships. The ran that had begun on Friday morning in Western Kansas followed the team to Olathe and continued to fall over night and make the course fairly slick. The course featured many turns and by the time the races had started, the corners were sloppy and the runners had to use caution so as not to fall or get stepped on.

Despite the cold, dreary weather, the Mavericks all ran within best their best times of the season. Freshman Purity Jepleting (MA, Kenya) finished 22nd out of 96 athletes with a less than PR time of 21:02.0. She was disappointed in her time but pleased to be in the top 25% of the Region. Jepleting has been fighting a seasonal cold all week and it seemed to get the best of her at this meet. She is looking for one final shot at a new PR at the National Meet in mid November.

The top 3 women's teams were Butler CC, Barton CC, and Allen CC. The women's winner was, of course, Barton's Lydia Mato, who has been a powerhouse in NJCAA distance running for 2 years now.

Only the four freshmen competed for the Maverick Men's team. Sophomore Jameslee Banning (EL, Burden, KS) was recovering from an ongoing knee issue. He hopes to make a full recovery by Track season. Finishing first for the Mavericks was Jeffrey Lazo (AT, Denver, CO). He finished 33rd out of 109 runners with a time of 28:13.2. Much like Jepleting, he was unhappy that he didn't PR, but his place in the top 30% of Region VI is the best finish in Northwest Tech history. He, too, looks to improve at Nationals.

Jamall Theodile (BT, New Iberia, LA) finished 70th with a time of 30:01.7. Theodile ran a good race and met his goal of beating a high school rival/teammate. His friend is excited for a rematch on the track in the spring. Theodile was about 30 off his PR, just like Jepleting and Lazo. And, just like them, is excited for the chance to compete at the national level.

Finishing 3rd for the Mavericks was Daniel Alvarado (CGT, Cozad, NE). His time was a new PR of 31:05.1. He beat his previous best by 7 seconds. Alvarado was excited to PR on such a bad weather day. He came in 88th place. His has been working on beating fellow teammate Ace Arteaga (EL, Goodland, KS) most of the season.

Arteaga has been experiencing some knee pain since before the Fort Hays meet. The knee injury combined with a wet and cold course spelled trouble. He covered the 8k course in 33:56.3 to finish in 104th place. This was certainly not the race that he had hoped to end the season with. Arteaga will be rehabbing his knee injury to be ready for spring track.

The top three teams in the Region were Allen, Butler, and Barton. The winner of the men's race was Barton's Laari Sampson. 

The top 3 Maverick men and woman will travel to Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge, IA on November 12th for a date with the national elite runners from all of the NJCAA.