Chumba and Mayer Both Qualify for NAIA Nationals as Both Teams Finish 4th at CCAC Championship
Bourbonnais, IL. The Judson University Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams participated in the CCAC Conference Championship on Saturday. The highlight of the day was two individual qualifications for the NAIA National Championships as Josphat Chumba and Marie Mayer each earned a spot for November 19's race in Vancouver, Washington.
The Judson women finished fourth as a team. Mayer's time of 19:32.31 placed her 15th and gave her all-conference honors in addition to the NAIA qualification. Kasey Moreno finished with a time of 19:58.55 to finish 18th with a time of 19:58.55. Nayeli Cisneros (21:18.78), Eva Serrato (21:20.02), and Maria Alarcon (21:42.19) each ran similar races to finish 26th, 27th, and 31st respectively. Laysha Hernandez finished 35th overall with a time of 22:01.15, while Beth Rodriguez recorded a 22:21.33 time to finish 38th.
The Men's team finished in fourth place, which was one spot higher than pre-race projections. Chumba finished ninth with a time of 26:21.65 to not only earn all-conference and NAIA honors, but he also won CCAC freshman of the year. Juan Villagomez finished with a time of 27:58.25 to finish 26th overall. Jonathan Jasso finished 29th with a time of 28:07.81. Kyle Braund recorded a time of 28:12.31 to finish 30th overall. Jaret Godinez was the fifth Eagle to cross the finish line with a time of 28:31.16 to place 34th overall. Cristian Rodriguez had a time of 29:55.41 to finish 44th, and Gage Fox rounded out Judson's top seven with a 30:12.59 time.
"I was happy with both of their races and that should give them confidence going forward," said Head Coach Cam Knudsen. "We have a huge training block until our next race. We look forward to continuing to progress in the coming races."
Both teams will next run on November 14 in the NCCAA National Championships at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO.