Region 4 continues dominance of NJCAA Division III, DuPage wins second title in three years
RICHMOND, VIR. - Region 4 once again made no doubt that when it comes to Division III men's cross country, it holds the top programs in the nation. The College of DuPage claimed the NJCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championship for the second time in three years, edging out region rivals Harper College and Joliet Junior College to give the region its 12th national title in the last 14 years. First year runner Nathan Ciarlette became the second individual champion for JJC and led a pack of 11 region runners to finish in the top 15. The NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships saw Sauk Valley Community College come away with the top finish by a Region 4 program, placing 16th.
2024 NJCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Final Results | 2024 NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Final Results
The College of DuPage tallied 44 points to finish six points ahead of Harper College at 50 points. Joliet Junior College was third with 85 points. The Chaparrals were paced by sophomore Kevin Diederich's runner-up finish, and a fourth place finish by freshman Jack Schultz. Fellow freshmen Miguel Capulin and Roman Nevarez placed eighth and ninth, respectively. The Hawks runner-up team finish was keyed by sophomore Owen Whalen finishing in third, followed by the trio of Connor Ariunbat, Jose Morales, and Jason Schmidt placing tenth through 12th ahead of Jerome Graessle in 14th. Ciarlette, a Joliet, Illinois, native, posted a championship time of 25:55.3 to win by five seconds. The Wolves also received a seventh place finish from Gavin Carlson, which rounds out the NJCAA All-Americans from Region 4. (Recaps: NJCAA | DuPage | Joliet)
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— NJCAA Cross Country and Track & Field (@NJCAAXCTF) November 10, 2024
DuPage wins the 2024 #NJCAAXC DIII Men's Championship after narrowly edging out Harper.https://t.co/IjIPNy60fc pic.twitter.com/UTXpJVF9Di
The Division II race finished with Lansing Community College on top with 66 points, while Sauk Valley Community College amassed 511 points to place 16th. The Skyhawks were led by Benjamin Plachno in 42nd place overall. Waubonsee Community College freshman David Valkanov ran a time of 25:45.1 to place ninth overall and earn NJCAA All-American honors.