No. 21 NIACC men set to race at nationals

GARDEN CITY, Kan. - The No. 21 NIACC men's cross country team will compete in the NJCAA Division I national meet on Saturday.

The eight-kilometer race is slated to start at 1 p.m. on the Buffalo Dunes Golf Course.

NIACC placed third at the NJCAA Region XI meet on Oct. 26 in Bettendorf. Iowa Central was the regional champion with Hawkeye CC placing second and Indian Hills fourth.

NIACC's Abdiaziz Wako and Gavin Connell both earned second-team all-region honors at the regional meet.

Wako was eighth with a personal-best time of 26 minutes, 19 seconds on the 8-kilometer course. Wako's time moved him into a tie for 16th on NIACC's all-time best list.

Connell was 11th in a personal-best time of 26:42.

Also earning all-region honors for the Trojans were honorable mention performers Sam Pedelty, who was 23rd in a personal-best time of 27:16, and Isaac Branstad, who was 24th in a personal-best time of 27:21.

The NIACC men placed 28th at the 2017 national meet in Fort Dodge with 480 points. Brian Jacques led the NIACC men with a seventh-place finish in a time of 25:13.

2018 NIACC men's 8K season bests

Abdiaziz Wako 26:19 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18)

Gavin Connell 26:42 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18)

Sam Pedelty 27:16 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18)

Isaac Branstad 27:21 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18) 

Daniel Hennigar 27:57 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18)

Zane Miller 28:17 (Trent Smith Invitational, 10-12-18)

Grant Dieken 28:37 (NJCAA Region XI meet, 10-26-18)

Evan Wilson 29:38 (Grand View Viking Invitational, 9-14-18)

Tyler Crawford 30:03 (Trent Smith Invitational, 10-12-18)