OTTUMWA, Iowa -- The 2019 Region XI Cross Country Championships will take place this Friday, Oct. 25 at Cedar Creek Golf Course in Ottumwa, Iowa, hosted by Indian Hills Community College. The men will run first at 4:00 p.m with the women's race to follow at 4:45 p.m.

Once again, heading into the meet, Iowa Central is this year's favorite with the men coming in at No. 3 in the NJCAA Rankings and the women holding on to the No. 1 rank (as of Oct. 16). Not far behind is Iowa Western, which has had a resurgence in 2019. After not participating in the women's event in 2018, and no top 15 finishers on the men's side, the Reivers are ranked top 10 in the country for both men's and women's. 

Other teams in the rankings are NIACC Men (No. 17) and Hawkeye Men (No. 22) and NIACC Women (No. 14). 

Runner's To Watch:

Men:

Awet Yohannes - Iowa Central

The sophomore from Sweed won his first race of the season last week at the Jim Drews Invitational in Wisconsin. His 24:41.2 was his personal record in the race. 

Shawn Kiptoo - Iowa Western

The top performer for the Reivers took second at the most recent meet heading into Friday's championships. He took first place at the ICCAC Time Trails back on Aug. 23. 

Others to Watch: 

Kassim Kibet - Iowa Western

Milos Pendic - Iowa Central 

Jorge Ruiz - NIACC

Sam Mickelson - Hawkeye

Women:

Winrose Chesang - Iowa Central

The top performer for the on the top team was named the USTFCCCA NJCAA Division I Athlete of the Week on Oct. 21 for the second time this season. She set a school record in the Tori Neubauer Invitation with a 21:02.6 6k. 

Faith Linga - Iowa Western

The Reiver has earned the USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week honor twice as well. Most recently she won the Black race at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open by 1.5 minutes. It would have won the Gold race by 30 seconds. 

Others to Watch:

Lilian Buesienei, Iowa Central

Florence Uwajeneza - Iowa Central

Emmy Jepkemei - Iowa Western

Paula Jimenez - NIACC

Qualification and Awards:

Seven runners are allowed to run from each school, however, Region XI Championship determination takes the top five scores from each team, with the lowest cumulative score of the five runners deciding a team's place. After the race, the 2019 Male and Female Athlete of the Year will be announced along with the 2019 Coach of the Year. 

Based on the Region XI Championship times, teams will qualify for the NJCAA Championship held in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday, Nov. 9.  

Each racer's finish determines their All-Region status for 2019. The champion through 7th place receive First-Team honors; 8th through 14th place will be on Second-Team, and 15th through 25th will be on Honorable Mention. 

Region XI Championship Website