(Glendale, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s cross country team competed in the NJCAA Region I, Division I Championships on Saturday at Glendale Heroes Regional Park.
The Aztecs finished in second place with a team score of 30 points. Central Arizona College took first place with a score of 25 points.
Sophomore Abraham Valenzuela (Palo Verde HS) captured the NJCAA Region I, Division I individual title as he finished the 8K (4.97 mile) race with a time of 25:14.2.
“It feels great, considering I was sick last week, and coming back to a consistent time. It felt really awesome to finally take my first dub for the cross country season,” Valenzuela said. “I started to pick up my pace at the third mile. I felt really comfortable going easy the first three miles, and the last two that’s where I started to push myself more. It was a better strategy.”
Freshman Declan Jorgenson (Ironwood Ridge HS) crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 26:21.4 while freshman Hall Griffith took seventh place at 26:42.7.
Freshman Jace Schaub (Canyon del Oro HS) captured eighth place and secured a time of 26:51.1 and sophomore Justin VanDeberg (Gile Ridge HS) was 10th with a time of 27:17.3.
Sophomore Russell Bauer-Woodman (Marana HS) closed out the race in 11th place with a time of 27:25.9 while freshman Louis Madrigal-Diaz (North Canyon HS) finished 12th at 27:49.2.
Valenzuela, Jorgenson, Griffith, Schaub, VanDeberg, Bauer-Woodman and Madrigal-Diaz earned All-Region honors.
The Aztecs will compete in the NJCAA Division I National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 11 at the John Hunt Cross Country Park in Huntsville, AL.
See the complete results of the NJCAA Region I, Division I race on WingFootFinish:
https://results.wingfootfinish.com/meets/27543/xc-events/1019265/results
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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