Three-peat for Carl Sandburg, while Harper reclaims Region 4 glory
GENEVA, ILL. - One run of dominance continued while another reclaimed its place after a three-year hiatus as Carl Sandburg College and Harper College raced to the 2023 NJCAA Region 4 Division II & III Men's Cross Country Championships, respectively, on Saturday, October 28 at the Northwestern Medicine Cross Country Course. The Chargers earned their third consecutive Region 4 crown with a six-point victory over runner-up Sauk Valley Community College, while Harper College sprinted to its first title since seeing a long run of success halted after the 2019 season. Sophomore Allan Kipruto of CSC and freshman Kevin Diederich of College of DuPage were the Region 4 Runners of the Year after taking home individual titles. Carl Sandburg College's Rodney Blue and Harper College's Jim Macnider earned Region 4 Coach of the Year accolades.
2023 NJCAA Region 4 Division II & III Women's Cross Country Championships Final Results
The men's Division II championship proved to be the most hotly contested of the day's four races, with six teams in the field and the top five finishing within 19 points of each other. The Chargers, bolstered by four top-15 finishes, tallied 57 points to each SVCC at 63 points after earning three top-15 spots. Morton College was third at 68, followed by Moraine Valley Community College with 70 points, Waubonsee Community College with 76, and Illinois Valley Community College with 151. Kipruto, a native of Kenya, broke the tape in 27:59.0, with Benjamin Plachno of SVCC in second at 28:30.4 and Jack Kajmowicz from MVCC taking third with a time of 28:31.2. The 2023 NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships are November 11 in Hunstville, Alabama. (Recaps: Carl Sandburg)
The Division III race was saw Harper College put together a complete team performance, finishing in places four through ten en route to 30 points. Joliet Junior College was second with 51 points, while defending national champions College of DuPage was third with 54 points. The Chaparrals were led by Diederich's championship run of 26:51.5, finishing ahead of Andrew Ciarlette (27:19.5) and Matt Clark (27:36.6) of JJC. Owen Whelan paced the Hawks with a fourth place finish at 27:48.6. The 2023 NJCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships are November 11 in Hunstville, Alabama. (Recaps: Harper | DuPage)
2023 All-Region Teams
Division I
First Team
Allan Kipruto - Carl Sandburg College
Benjamin - Sauk Valley Community College
Jack Kajmowicz - Moraine Valley Community College
Collines Chelak - Carl Sandburg College
Fernando Quintana - Morton College
Second Team
Dayton Beatty - Waubonsee Community College
Andrew Sima - Moraine Valley Community College
Logan Cunz - Waubonsee Community College
Jason Nieman - Highland Community College
Brian Kiplagat - Morton College
Third Team
Thomas Holcomb - Sauk Valley Community College
Adrian Alcantar - Morton College
Kaden Welty - Sauk Valley Community College
Meshack Kimutai - Carl Sandburg College
Sebastian Mantilla - Morton College
Region 4 Athlete of the Year
Allan Kipruto - Carl Sandburg College
Region 4 Coach of the Year
Rodney Blue - Carl Sandburg College
Division III
First Team
Kevin Diederich - College of DuPage
Andrew Ciarlette - Joliet Junior College
Matt Clark - Joliet Junior College
Owen Whelan - Harper College
Marcos Jaimes - Harper College
Region 4 Athlete of the Year
Kevin Diederich - College of DuPage
Region 4 Coach of the Year
Jim Macnider - Harper College