The Blinn College cross country program concluded its return campaign at the NJCAA Men’s & Women’s Half Marathon Championships on Tuesday at Dorey Park in Richmond, Va.
After racing in the NJCAA’s cross country national championship meets on Saturday, the Buccaneers took on a unique challenge as their men’s and women’s squads competed against 47 teams and almost 300 runners in a pair of 13-mile races.
“The cross country championships were the primary focus for both teams this entire year, but the opportunity to compete as a team and represent Blinn College for the first time at the NJCAA’s half marathon championships was something that I think many of the athletes were excited about,” Bucs head coach said. “Even though the race distance was a little intimidating for many, we jumped in head first and performed admirably.”
Against 27 men’s teams, Blinn deployed six runners and finished 14th with a total time of 6 hours, 26 minutes, and 31 seconds.
Sophomore Eric Lagat shined for the Bucs as he completed the race in 1:13:33.3 to place 39th out of 175 competitors. Freshmen Christian Gonzalez (1:15:07) and Edward Rivera (1:15:54.1) placed 58th and 68th, respectively. Freshmen Fernando Garza, Michael Dudley, and Joseph Villegas also finished the race for Blinn.
“Going into this race, I had mixed feelings on how well we were going to do because this was the longest run several of us had ever faced,” Rivera said. “The race was very competitive and challenging and had such a great environment surrounding it. Overall, everyone did great and gave it their all, which is all you can ask for.”
Blinn’s women’s team also placed 14th in a field of 20 programs. The Bucs ran a collective time of 6:52:02.
A total of 122 runners made up the women’s competition, and Blinn freshman Clare White found her way into the top half of the finishers with a time of 1:39:49.9, good for 56th place. Also finishing the run for the Bucs were freshmen Juliana Jeansonne (72nd in 1:43:24.6), Mia Guillen (73rd in 1:43:30.7), and Sophie Pyle (80th in 1:45:16.8).
“We used the ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ analogy for the half marathon, with our goal being staying patient, steady and consistent early in the race while others were being chaotic and burning their energy,” Parker said. “Our women were particularly effective at this strategy, as we moved from 19th place as a team at 1 1/2-mile mark to 14th by the end of the race. I was incredibly proud of the women’s grit and passion today.”
Blinn’s first season of cross country since 1995 comes to a close following a successful relaunch that saw the Bucs compete in seven meets this fall. Blinn placed numerous runners ahead of NCAA Division I, II, and III athletes in several races, while also besting several four-year programs in the process.
With the season in the books, the Bucs will now turn their attention to the spring, where Parker is anticipating entering individual runners into distance races at collegiate track & field meets in preparation for the 2025 cross country campaign.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
