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PALATINE, Ill. – Hosting the NJCAA Region IV Women's Cross Country Championship on its own turf, the Harper College women's cross country team turned in a brilliant performance on a rainy Saturday morning.
The Hawks ran through persistent rain and sloppy course conditions to win the Region IV title at the NJCAA Div. III level. Additionally, Harper took first place among the nine NJCAA schools at the meet that fielded a full squad, and Hawks top runner Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) won the individual title in convincing fashion.
In the DIII competition against Joliet Junior College, the Hawks scored 23 points to Joliet's 32 points. Between just the two teams, Harper occupied the top three spots as well as eighth and ninth, compared to spots 4-7 and 10 for Joliet.
Overall, Harper placed its top three runners in the top four and scored 42 points total to outdistance second place Joliet (65 points) and third place Moraine Valley Community College (82 points).
Gutt blistered through the sloppy track on the Harper College campus in 18:58.07, her best 5K time of 2015. Nearest challenger Mercedes Sanchez of Sauk Valley was a full 37 seconds behind, finishing in 19:35.58. Gutt was named the NJCAA Region IV Div. III Runner of the Year.
The Hawks' Leslie Rosiles (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and Dianne Barajas (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg) ran together for most of the race before Rosiles pulled away at the end to take third place in a season-best 19:55.24. Barajas crossed the finish line in a PR time of 20:03.81 and took fourth place.
Sophomore Silvia Catalan (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) braved the elements and was Harper's fourth runner in 21:20.3 and took 17th place overall. Katie Thevara (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) rounded out the top five with a time of 21:28.83, a PR at the 5K distance, for 21st place.
Hawks freshman Veronica Brooks (Arlington Heights, Ill./Battle (Mo.)) completed the race in 22:44.16 for 39th place overall, followed by Cynthia Siddiqui (/Palatine), who took 44th in 23:13.01.
Jacqueline Colon (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) took 51st place overall in a time of 24:16.13, and Michelle Puma (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) placed 54th in 24:49.38. Amy Nava (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) claimed 57th place in 25:14.56. Finally, Nancy Leinwander (Inverness, Ill./Fremd) and Maggie Madden (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) ran strong races in the adverse conditions. Leinwander finished in 26:56.42 for 64th place while Madden finished in 26:59.91 for 65th place.
Harper head cross country coach Jim Macnider was named the Coach of the Year at the NJCAA Region IV Div. III level.
The Hawks now make final preparations for the 2015 NJCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship in Westfield, Massachusetts. The women's 5K race will be run at 11 AM EST on Saturday, Nov. 7.
FloTrack, which is home to everything track and field from around the globe, including races, interviews, workouts, and more, will provide on-site coverage of the national meet. For video of Saturday's meet, click here.
