Cloud County Men's Cross Country Team Finishes 19th at NJCAA Division I Championships

Led by a 27th-place individual finish from freshman Siyabonga Mokgothu, the Cloud County Community College men's cross country team had three individual runners finish inside the top 100 of a 208-runner field to take 19th as a team at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships held at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama on Saturday, November 11th. 

As a team, Cloud County would finish with a total of 515 points to sit 15 points back of 18th-place Crowder and 26 points ahead of 20th-place Amarillo College (541 points). A total of 28 teams would post team scores in the meet, with Trinidad State Junior College winning the team title with 71 points while edging out Salt Lake Community College who finished as national runner-up with 78 points. 

Getting out to a quick pace of 13:55.1 at the first timing split (4.6K), Mokgothu would be unable to keep with the lead pack down the stretch as the top-seven runners in the meet would run sub-24 minute times with Mokgothu coming in at the 24:54.80 mark as the sixth-fastest runner from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. Kamogelo Thipe would be CCCC's next-highest finisher with a time of 26:45.80 to take 87th overall while coming in just four seconds ahead of teammate Ethan Ochcana (92nd) who would run a time of 26:51.00. Cloud County's remaining two runners that would compete in the meet on Saturday would include Andres Young (169th, 29:04.30) and Alan Garcia (175th, 29:30.40). 

The meet officially concludes the team portion of the schedule for the T-Birds as the season will conclude this coming Tuesday, November 14th with the 2023 NJCAA Half Marathon Championships. The race, which will take place in Huntsville, Alabama at John Hunt Park, will begin at 9:15 AM with Mokgothu representing Cloud County on the men's side.