No. 8 NIACC men seek to defend regional title

WATERLOO - The No. 8 NIACC men's cross country team will compete in the NJCAA Region XI championships on Friday at the South Hills Golf Course.

The men's 8K race starts at 4 p.m. The women's 5-kilometer race is set to begin at 4:45 p.m. 

NIACC will compete in the Division II portion of the race.

NIACC placed third at the Indian Hills Invitational on Oct. 15 in Ottumwa. The Trojans were led by Melvin Kipkemboi's second-place finish in personal best 24:50 in the 8-kilometer race, earned its third-place finish at the Indian Hills Invite with 80 points.

Also for NIACC at the Indian Hills Invite, Christian Rodriguez placed 18th in a personal best time of 27:53, Peyton Seiler was 19th in a personal best time of 28:07, Richard Marcoux was 22nd (28:26) and Pudens Kipkosgei was 23rd (28:27). The Trojans' Bryden Juelsgaard was 30th in a personal best time of 28:56 and Maxwell Deeter was 60th in a personal best time of 32:36.

Hawkeye CC is ranked 11th and is the only other ICCAC school ranked in the NJCAA Division II poll.

NIACC claimed the 2020 NJCAA Region XI Division II title in Fort Dodge with 19 points. Kipkemboi was the regional champion in a time of 25:50.

Kipkemboi is the third NIACC men's cross country runner to win a regional title. NIACC's Dan Mayer won the regional title in 2006 and Cody Manchester was the 2011 regional champion.

NIACC also claimed back-to-back regional titles in 2011 and 2012.

The top four runners in Friday's Division II portion of the meet earn first-team all-region honors. Runners five through eight earn second-team all-region honors and runners nine through 12 will be honorable mention all-region selections.

The top seven overall runners in the race (Division I and Division II combined) make up the all-ICCAC first-team. Overall runners eight through 14 are second-team all-ICCAC and runners 15 through 21 are honorable mention all-ICCAC.