XC teams finish top 10

Leading the Eagles to a sixth place finish, Nicky Banzhaf, junior of Chadron, became the first runner for CSC to earn first-team all-conference honors with her 14th place finish at the RMAC Championships in Alamosa, Colorado, Saturday.

Banzhaf competed against 124 women in the 6K, where she stopped the clock in 22 minutes, 34.8 seconds. That time marks the second best time in CSC history at the 6K and a career best for Banzhaf. Stacy Girard set the best time at 21:59 in 2013. Banzhaf was the lone Eagle runner to make All-RMAC First Team.

“The whole race, I was able to keep my focus grounded on God, and I was able to truly push myself,” Banzaf said.

The women’s cross country team jumped up five places from last year’s finish to place sixth out of 14.

“The women picked up five spots from last year just because they are a better team than last year,” Head Coach Brian Medigovich said. “We didn’t graduate anyone over this past year, and with good summer training, we’re a lot better as a team overall.”

Adams State won the meet with 20 points, followed by Western State, 48; Colorado Mines, 96; Fort Lewis, 143; University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, 163; and CSC, 204. Rounding out the top 10 schools were Colorado Christian in 7th with 207 points; CSU-Pueblo, 8th, 215; Metro State, 9th, 224; and South Dakota School of Mines, 10th, 271.

The second Eagle to cross the line was senior Rebecca Wolf, of Wood River, who finished 41st in 23:44.5. Jayme Nunes, senior of Alliance, was next in 56th in 24:01.4.

Not far behind Nunes, Margaret Vinton, junior of North Platte, crossed in 59th with a time of 24:06.7. Running the course in 24:17.4, junior Sandra Palayo, of Cozad, finished 61st.

Coming in 67th was Alyse Henry, freshman of Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 24:23.8. Running 95th, in 25:27.2, was senior Sarah Townsend, of Douglas, Wyoming. Taylor Allison, sophomore of Gordon, rounded out the Eagles finishers in 104st in 26:08.3.     

“I was incredibly proud of our team,” Banzhaf said. “We moved up five places from last conference.”

Adams State’s Noel Prandoin, sophmore of Santa Fe, New Mexico, won the race in 20:43.7.

In the men’s division, there were 122 competitors.  The men’s team finished ninth out of 14 teams with 225 points in the

8K race. Adam’s State won the men’s RMAC title earning 36 points followed by Colorado Mines, 37; Western State, 74; University of Colorado-Colorado Spring, 154; Black Hills State, 167; CSU-Pueblo, 189; Metro State, 203; New Mexico Highlands, 209; CSC; and in 10th place, Fort Lewis, 256.

Evans Koech, senior of Nairobi, Kenya, placed 25th in 25:55.8, while junior Dylan Stansbury, of Crawford, finished 34th in 26:08.6. 

“I felt pretty good. I was able to survive the elevation, and I am now used to running at elevation competitively,” Stansbury said.

Levi Avila, sophomore of Mitchell, finished 60th in 27:01.7, and sophomore Eric Yager, of Hot Springs, South Dakota, came in 69th in 27:21.2. Phill Duncan, sophomore of Chadron, finished 76th in 27:35.9, while junior Kyle Dietsch, of Sheridan, Wyoming, was 78th in 27:37.1. CSC’s sixth men’s runner, Hank Jackson, junior of Lingle, Wyoming, finished 82th in a time of 27:46.9. Taylor Dick, freshman of Douglas, Wyoming, was the final finisher for the Eagles in 117th place in a time of 32:31.6.

Colorado Mines’ Dan Mahoney, junior of Westminister, Colorado, won the men’s race in 24:26.

Both teams will compete Nov. 7 in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Canyon, Texas, with top four teams qualifying for NCAA Championships.

Medigovich said that all the teams from the RMAC, Lone Star Conference and Heartland Conference qualify for regionals. 

“I’m really looking forward to what we can do at Regionals,” Banzaf said.

“I’m proud of what both teams did at Alamosa,” Medigovich said. “And we have been looking forward to Regionals all year. Regionals is back to sea level, which will really level the playing field.”