The Blinn College men’s and women’s cross country teams concluded their first-year resurgence at the Watson Cross Country Classic on Friday in Clinton, Miss.
Having already bested numerous NCAA programs throughout the fall, the Buccaneers continued that trend during their final regular-season meet of the year as the 24th-ranked men topped Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Tech University en route to a 10th-place finish, and the women placed 15th while beating out Northwestern State University and Grambling State University.
McMurry University won both the men’s and women’s team titles.
On the men’s side, 21 teams and 227 runners competed in the 8-kilometer race hosted by Mississippi College. Blinn also defeated NJCAA programs Meridan Community College, University of Arkansas-Rich Mountain, and Jacksonville College.
Bucs freshman was outstanding for Blinn, recording a season-best time of 25 minutes, 51.6 seconds to claim 24th place individually.
“With this being the last regular-season competition, I made sure I came into the race focused and was ready the moment the gun went off,” Gonzalez said. “This course has a lot of rolling hills, but training on the hills around Brenham was the perfect preparation for today as it made this course feel flat. I did let up a bit too much in the middle of the race and got passed by a few runners, but I was able to catch several of them before the finish line. Going forward, I still need to work on this aspect of my race.”
(Pictured: Blinn’s Christian Gonzalez, 28, and Eric Lagat, 30, run during the Watson Cross Country Classic on Oct. 18)
Sophomore Eric Lagat also finished inside the top 40, reaching the finish line in 26:15.30 for 38th place.
Blinn’s other finishers included freshmen Edward Rivera (81st place in 27:16.30), Joseph Villegas (87th in 27:25.70), Jack Reisman (95th in 27:36.40) and Michael Dudley (99th in 27:42.40). Reisman and Dudley posted their best times of the fall.
“As a team, we have been working on trying to close the time gap between our top runners and our fourth, fifth, and sixth runners, and today we saw what we are capable of when we run as a pack,” Bucs head coach Jesse Parker said. “Joseph Villegas, Jack Riesman and Michael Dudley did a great job of racing and rounding out our team scorers.”
In the women’s 6K competition, the Bucs claimed 15th place in the 23-team, 178-competitor run. This was the longest race of the season for Blinn, as the Bucs had previously only competed in 5K competitions.
Along with besting Northwestern State and Grambling, Blinn topped Jacksonville and UA-Rich Mountain.
Freshman Clare White paced the Bucs with a time of 24:23.50 and a 28th-place showing.
“Coming into the race today, I mentally prepared myself knowing that it was a 6k, and I told myself that I can do anything I put my mind to,” White said. “Coach Parker was confident that I was fit enough to race this 6k well, and I just trusted him and our training. This was my most efficient race this year.”
Freshmen Mia Guillen (94th place in 26:17.10), Sophie Pyle (95th in 26:18.40), Juliana Jeansonne (102nd in 26:26.80), and Fernanda Ortiz (161st in 34:33.30) also crossed the finish line for Blinn.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Clare White, 25, and Mia Guillen, 20, run during the Watson Cross Country Classic on Oct. 18)
“The race was longer for the women than what they are used to, but I thought they handled it well considering they have little experience running that distance,” Parker said. “Clare continues to excel and executed another great race today, and always seems to find a way to run her best when it matters the most.”
Next up for the Bucs will be the NJCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championship on Saturday, Nov. 9, in Mechanicsville, Va. The meet is open to all Division I JUCO cross country programs.
“It feels good to end our regular season on a high note with these performances today,” Parker added. “The buy-in and improvement these athletes have displayed over the past three months is nothing short of phenomenal and I am proud to be their coach. I’m even more excited about the future of Blinn cross country than I was when we started this process back in May, and we are going to keep preparing to ensure we are ready for the national meet.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 NJCAA national championships since 1987
