March 8, 2025

A few of Central Arizona's distance athletes qualified for the NJCAA National Meet which was held at Texas Tech University on Saturday.  

Samuel Gilson, Jessica Chaparro Viera, and Tatyana Enriquez all represented CAC and the cross country teams at the championship meet.  Each athlete went into the meet ranked lower than others but left succeeding their ranking, running their best when it mattered most. 

Samuel had the nation's 34th best 3000 meter time going into the meet but ended up placing 13th overall with a season best of 8:27.82.  Samuel also placed second overall in his heat, outdistancing a lot of other faster runners in his heat.  

Jessica had the nation's 42nd best 5000 meter time going into the meet but ended up placing 18th overall with a 18:51.00. Jessica placed 4th overall in her heat, outdistancing a lot of other faster runners.

Tatyana had the nation's 70th best 1000 meter time going into the meet but ended up placing 32nd overall with a personal best of 3:14.79.  Tatyana beat one other runner in her heat who had a faster seeded time of nearly 16 seconds better. 

"I am happy in how we fared today"  Stated Head Coach Jon Harmon, "We aim to get more qualified for outdoor nationals but those that made the cut for indoor all competed and placed ahead of a lot of other runners with better marks. Excited to see their transition into outdoor season."