Sophie Pyle Mia Guillen Savanna thaw Juliana Jeansonne Nationals 2024

General 11/10/2024 9:57:00 AM

Blinn teams take 20th, 21st at NJCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships

The Buccaneers will now turn their attention to the NJCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Half Marathon Championships on Nov. 12

General 11/10/2024 9:57:00 AM

Blinn teams take 20th, 21st at NJCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships

The Buccaneers will now turn their attention to the NJCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Half Marathon Championships on Nov. 12

The Blinn College men's and women's cross country teams continued their program relaunch at the NJCAA Division I Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Va.

The Buccaneers competed among 68 teams and 375 runners.

"I am incredibly proud of this entire group, not just for their performance today, but in how they bought in to our mission for the year," Blinn head coach Jesse Parker said. "Our athletes have taken ownership of the program and have served in various roles to help ensure that our first year was a successful one. I am forever indebted to all of them."

In the men's 8-kilometer race, sophomore Eric Lagat and freshmen Edward Rivera, Christian Gonzalez, Michael Dudley, Joseph Villegas, Jack Reisman, and Fernando Garza competed for Blinn and claimed 20th place out of 28 teams.

Eric Lagat Nationals 2024

(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Eric Lagat runs during the NJCAA Division I Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships on Nov. 9, 2024)

Leading the way for the Bucs in the 191-runner competition was Lagat, who placed 64th overall with a time of 25 minutes, 53.7 seconds. Following Lagat were Rivera (109th in 26:39.9), Gonzalez (115th in 26:46.5), Dudley (153rd in 27:43.4), Villegas (163rd in 28:02.4), Reisman (175th in 29:08.8), and Garza (180th in 29:19.8).

"As a team, we were confident and excited to compete at these championships, constantly encouraging each other to perform well," Lagat said. "I feel privileged to be part of the team's re-emergence and honored to be on such a special team."

Salt Lake Community College captured the men's team crown behind a first-place run from sophomore JaQuavious Harris.

In the women's 5K competition, made up of 25 squads and 184 competitors, freshmen Clare White, Sophie Pyle, Juliana Jeansonne, Savanna Thaw, and Mia Guillen helped the Bucs to 21st place.

White's time of 19:58.1 made her Blinn's top finisher as she claimed 85th place. Following her to the finish line were Pyle (121st in 20:53.9), Jeansonne (129th in 21:03.5), Thaw (142nd in 21:26.4), and Guillen (153rd in 21:55.2).

Clare White Nationals 2024

(Pictured: Blinn freshman Clare White runs during the NJCAA Division I Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships on Nov. 9, 2024)

"Our team was focused and determined, and knowing we had trained hard we were ready to give it our all," White said. "Being part of the first women's cross country team at Blinn has been an incredible honor, and it feels amazing to pave the way for future generations. Today's performance was a big accomplishment for all of us, and showed that our training is paying off and that we are capable of achieving our goals."

Salt Lake also won the women's race, while Odessa College freshman Elizabeth Ilanda claimed the individual title.

This season marked the return of Blinn cross country after the program was previously disbanded following the 1995 campaign. The Bucs celebrated the revival by outperforming expectations this fall, producing individual and team performances throughout the year that ranked above NJCAA Division I, II, and III runners and programs.

Next up, Blinn will enter individual runners in the NJCAA Division I Men's & Women's Half Marathon Championships on Tuesday at Dorey Park in Richmond, Va.
Lagat, Rivera, Gonzalez, Dudley, Villegas, Garza, White, Pyle, Jeansonne, and Guillen will run in the 13 1/2-mile event.

"Outside of two of our men's runners (Lagat and Garza), this will be the longest distance any of our athletes have run at one time," Parked added. "It is going to make for an interesting first experience for us all, but we will use this experience to help introduce some aspects of training that we will want to improve on during our offseason."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.

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Players Mentioned

Mia Guillen: Freshman

Juliana Jeansonne: Freshman

Sophie Pyle: Freshman

Savanna Thaw: Freshman

Clare White: Freshman

Michael Dudley: Freshman

Fernando Garza: Freshman

Christian Gonzalez: Freshman

Jack Reisman: Freshman

Edward Rivera: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Mia Guillen
: Freshman

Juliana Jeansonne
: Freshman

Sophie Pyle
: Freshman

Savanna Thaw
: Freshman

Clare White
: Freshman

Michael Dudley
: Freshman

Fernando Garza
: Freshman

Christian Gonzalez
: Freshman

Jack Reisman
: Freshman

Edward Rivera
: Freshman