Women sixth at NJCAA Championship

Kibet, Kimutai All-Americans

Results
CCC sophomore Winnie Kibet passes a runner from Vincennes University at the NJCAA Cross Country Championship Nov. 11 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Kibet finished third and became an All-American for the second time.
CCC sophomore Winnie Kibet passes a runner from Vincennes University at the NJCAA Cross Country Championship Nov. 11 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Kibet finished third and became an All-American for the second time.
November 11, 2017

The Colby women's cross country team placed sixth out of 42 teams at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Nov. 11 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The finish was the highest for the team since 1999. All-American status was earned by Winnie Kibet and Sharon Kimutai.

Kibet was also named the USATFCCA Central Region Women's Athlete of the Year. Head Coach Cameron Rieth, named the 2017 Central Region Women's Coach of the Year, was pleased with the results.

"Words cannot express how proud I am of everyone and what we were able to accomplish this season as a collective group," Rieth said. "Some of us got out a little too hard, which I think we paid for in the end. We let our nerves and emotions get the best of us, but we will learn from it and apply it to the future."

In the race that covered 3.1 miles, Colby scored a total of 227 points. Kibet, also a 2016 All-American, placed third with a time of 17:54. Sharon Kimutai finished 30th in 19:08. The other Colby runners were within 40 seconds of each other. MacKenzie Dill (19:42), Jessica Gamez-Ramos (19:47), Allison Hiatt (20:00), Aileen Gurrola (20:03), and Trizer Wangari (20:22) raced among 309 runners.

"They all ran their hearts out and several of them came away with a personal best," Rieth said. "As a coach, that is all I can ever ask for. I am honored to have been able to coach this group. We need to keep this momentum going as we start to prepare for the track season."