Tri-C Cross Country Places 13th at Nationals

Triceratops run to second-highest finish in school history at NJCAA Championship

The women’s cross country team at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C^®) raced to a 13^th-place finish at the 2019 NJCAA Division I championship race — the second-best showing in school history.

Fielding a mostly freshman squad, the Triceratops ran as a pack to climb toward the top of the team results. Thirty-eight schools competed in the Nov. 9 race in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“Our goal going into the race was to run as one,” said head coach Don Cox, who just completed his 29^th season leading the team. “That was how we found success all year.”

Claudia Mendek of North Royalton led Tri-C while placing 69^th out of nearly 300 runners. She was followed closely across the finish line by Hannah Heath of Sullivan (79^th) and Hailey Vitolo of Perry (80^th).

Juliet Rayer of North Royalton and Samantha Agresta of Middleburg Heights also finished in the top half of the field to round out Tri-C’s scoring.

Hope Brown of Middleburg Heights and Kristen van’t Veer of Ashtabula also competed for Tri-C.

This was the College’s 19^th consecutive appearance at the national championships. Only the 2015 team — which finished 12^th — placed higher. Tri-C placed 29^th last year.

The performance followed an impressive showing at regionals, where Tri-C topped three other schools ranked among the Top 25 in the country. Five Triceratops runners earned all-regional honors at the race.

Earlier in the season, Tri-C won the Buffalo State Daniel Walker Invitational.

The team — which began the year with many unknowns — exceeded all expectations: “I couldn’t be more proud of what they accomplished this season,” Cox said. “This is a special group. The finish at national finals certainly put an exclamation point on that.”

November 12, 2019

John Horton, 216-987-4281 john.horton@tri-c.edu