HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Wallace State Community College’s men’s and women’s cross country teams each earned their seventh consecutive championship titles at the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) Region 22 Championship meets held Friday at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.
The men’s team dominated the race with eight Wallace State runners finishing in the top 10 for an overall team score of 16. Northeast Alabama Community College came in at second place with a score of 84. First-year Head Coach Tony Crider was named the ACCC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers.
Sophomore Luke Kennedy of Huntsville was named the men’s cross country runner of the year for his first-place finish in the 8000-meter race, with a time of 25:44.47. Seven other Wallace State runners finished in the top 10.
Those runners include were freshman Tyler Anthony of Fort Payne (26:21.40), sophomore David Robles of Springville (26:30.63), freshman Daniel Leija of Albertville (26:36.90), freshman Carson Masterson of Hatton (27:00.76), freshman Harper Branscome of Muscle Shoals (27:14.54), freshman Conner McCrary of Muscle Shoals (27:18.13) and freshman Elliot Denard of Springville, (27:25.04). The top eight runners for Wallace State will head to the National Junior College Conference championship next month in Richmond, Va. Kennedy, Anthony, Robles, Leija, Masterson, Branscome and McCrary will be scheduled to compete with Denard as an alternate.
Anthony, Roble, Leija, Masteron, Brancome, and McCrary all earned All-Regional honors.
The women’s team had six runners finish in the top 12 for a final score of 32 points, 21 points ahead of second-place Shelton State. Sophomore Grace Gosline of Arab came in at second place overall with a time of 19:50.86 in the 5000-meter race.
Sophomore Eden Brumer of Fort Thomas finished in fifth place with a time of 20:00.75. Freshman Reagan Parris of Bremen finished in seventh place (20:13.92), followed by sophomore Abigale Vega of Fort Payne in eighth (20:37.72), sophomore Ivy Edge of Eva in 10th place (20:48.83), and sophomore Claire Deaton of Madison in 11th place (21:02.59).
Gosline, Brumer, Parris and Vega all earned All-Region honors. They, along with Edge, Deaton, and freshman Bernarda Tizpap-Robles of Cullman will travel to Richmond, Va., to compete in the NJCAA national tournament, with sophomore Kendall Harbison, as an alternate.
“I think we went into this race today with a goal, of course, to win, but we want to peak in the next couple of weeks,” said Crider, who was “I’m proud of how they all progressed through the year. It was a great group effort. Ultimately, winning the national championships is the goal.”
The NJCAA National Championships for both men’s and women’s cross country will be held Nov. 9 at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Va.
