Saturday

Central Arizona College competed at the George Oja Invitational in Portland, OR on Saturday.  The meet was hosted by Linfield University and had a combination of NCAA, NAIA, and junior colleges not in the NJCAA system.  

"I highlighted this meet on our schedule for various reasons" Stated Head Coach Jon Harmon, "I wanted us to race on complete grass, go against competition we normally wouldn't see, and learn to race on a quick turnaround for travel."

The Vaqueros placed 4th overall out of a field of 23 teams.  Losing to Portland (NCAA D1 Ranked 25th), CCC Elite (Semi-Professionals), Eastern Oregon (NAIA Ranked 10th). 

"As a team the men didn't have the best race but I presented them with a lot of obstacles and they did a good job at responding"  Stated Harmon.  "I'm proud of Sam and Jorge, they both ran very well today."

The Vaqueros were led by Samuel Gilson who has now led the team in nearly every race this season.  Samuel toured the 8km course in 24:31.80 and placed 9th out of 260 runners.  Samuel recorded a season best and also posted the fastest time in the ACCAC thus far this season as he gains momentum heading into the national meet in November. 

Rounding out scoring for the Vaqueros were:

Japhet Kiprono (25:04.30) placed 17th overall.

Jayden Smith (25:15.90) placed 26th overall.

Sulliman Rodriguez (25:59.50) placed 62nd overall.

Jorge Felix Valle (26:17.60) placed 73rd overall and a new personal record.

Sandile Pule (26:25.80) placed 79th overall and a new personal record.

Marius Delchard (27:18.10) placed 129th overall.

Cross Country concluded their regular season and will finish up postseason action at the NJCAA Region 1 and NJCAA D1 National Championship in the next three weeks.