Iowa Western Men's Cross Country burst onto the national scene last Saturday at the NJCAA Championships. The Reivers had two top-six finishes from Kassim Kibet (3rd) 24:05.24 and Shawn Kiptoo (6th) 24:23.20. Both secured spots on First Team (Kibet) and Second Team (Kiptoo) NJCAA All-American teams with their respective finishes.
As a team, the Reivers placed 8th, giving them their highest team finish in school history.
Iowa Central continued its prowess in cross country as the team placed in the top 3 for the sixth year in a row. ICCAC Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year and Region XI Champion Awet Yohannes took 14th place (24:59.96), an was recognized on Honorable Mention All-American team. Yiech Pur Biel (22nd) 25:25.69, Eldad Mulugeta (31st) 25:47.96, and Milos Pendic (32nd) 25:48.13 all contributed to the team success as well.
Overall, four ICCAC teams placed in the top twenty in Iowa Central (3rd, 140 points), Iowa Western (8th, 281 points), NIACC (18th, 540 points), and Hawkeye (20th, 554 points). Indian Hills (724 points), DMACC (821 points), and Southwestern (856 points) were also represented at Nationals.
2019 NJCAA All-Americans:
1st Team - Kassim Kibet - Iowa Western
2nd Team - Shawn Kiptoo - Iowa Western
Honorable Mention - Awet Yohannes - Iowa Central