Cross Country Teams Head to National Championship

The Shelton State Community College men's and women's cross country teams will compete for a national championship this weekend at the NJCAA National Cross Country meet.

The event will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa. 

The men's 8K begins at 2:30 p.m. (CT) followed by the women's 5K at 3:30 p.m. (CT).

Both squads had great showings at the ACCC Championship meet two weeks ago. The men finished second and the women finished fourth. 

The men are currently ranked No. 13 nationally, while the women are ranked No. 20. 

"I expect both squads to be strong in their performance," head coach Charles Tiller said. "Cross country is about strength and endurance versus speed."

That endurance will be tested this weekend with a forecast that includes rain and temperatures in the mid 30s.

"We race the last two races of the day, so I expect the course to be chewed up," Tiller added. "There will probably be no personal bests, but that's okay. We run for place, not time."

"It's hard to separate out any one person that's a leader out of our Top 6 men," Tiller said. "There is only like a 50-second spread between our fastest runner, Drew Dykes and our No. 6 Matthew Waldrop."

Logan Rogers, Brady Jones, Ben Guthrie, and Dane Ard will also be in the mix.

"Very few teams have our type of depth," Tiller added. 

Crosslin, Dykes and Jones, earned All-Conference designation at the ACCC Championships.

The women's team is led by Hattie Hurst, who earned All-ACCC honors at the conference meet.

"Hattie Hurst has been so consistent with her training over the last 18 months," Tiller said. "She's been our number one runner for most of the year."

In addition to Hurst, the women will rely on Hannah Berryman, Maya Jones, Emma Heppner, Amari Simmons, Grace Hall, and Anna Peak.

"The women have had a couple of really good training weeks since conference," Tiller said.

"All of the ladies have been really resilient this season. They are in a great position to do well on Saturday."