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PALATINE, Ill. – Steady rain, wind, and difficult conditions wouldn't stop the Harper College men's cross country team on Saturday afternoon.
Running the NJCAA Region IV Men's Cross Country Championship on its own course, the team won the Region IV title at the NJCAA Div. III level. Overall, the Hawks took fourth place among the eight NJCAA schools at the race that fielded a full team. Finally, Harper sophomore Will Troman (/Streamwood) ran an outstanding race to win the individual championship in thrilling fashion.
In the DIII competition against Joliet Junior College, the Hawks scored 15 points to Joliet's 50 points for a clean sweep. Harper occupied the top seven spots. In the overall race, Harper was the fourth-best team with 88 points, behind only Waubonsee Community College, College of Lake County, and Morton College.
Troman looked strong throughout the race and settled in with the lead pack of 5-7 runners for most of the 8K race. In the final mile, that pack finally spread out, and Troman made a move to the front. As he made his way down the straightaway for the finish line, only Waubonsee's Joshua Robinson was close.
Troman pushed it to the finish line to capture the individual crown in 27:54.54, just over a second ahead of Robinson (27:55.67). College of Lake County's Will Llanos took third place in 28:06.61. Troman was named the NJCAA Region IV Div. III Runner of the Year.
For the next several minutes, runners came barreling into the finish chute. Hawks sophomores Adam Brauer (Palatine, lll./Palatine) and T.J. Paton (Fairfield, Calif./Hersey) came cruising in next for the team. Brauer took 17th place overall with a time of 28:47.62, and Paton crossed in 28:52.79 for 19th place.
Eddie Lamas (Schaumburg, Ill. /Schaumburg) was Harper's fourth runner with a 24th place finish in 29:29.54. Kurtis Monahan (Inverness, Ill. /Barrington) rounded out the scoring with a time of 30:09.94, good for 36th place.
Travis Rauch (Schaumburg, Ill. /Schaumburg) ran a solid race, taking 43rd in 30:36.29. Finally, Omar Alhayek (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) ran a 31:41.61 for 56th 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 Men's Cross Country Championship in Westfield, Massachusetts. The men's 8K race will be run at 10 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.
