Creston, IA – Led by a program record five All-Region performances, the No. 7 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Cross Country team placed third overall at the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Men's Cross Country Region 11 Championship on Friday at the Crestmoor Golf Club.
In the tightest finish in the history of the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), Indian Hills tallied 43 points, the lowest total in school history, to place third overall behind No. 1 Iowa Western Community College with 37 points and No. 2 Iowa Central Community College with 40 points.
For just the second time in school history, the Warriors garnered a NJCAA Region 11 runner-up as freshman standout Brandon Ford (Perth, Western Australia/Duncraig) crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 24:55.36. Ford, the Indian Hills 8k school record holder, finished just nine seconds behind the top finisher while placing 14 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher.
Ford was joined by sophomore Keveroy Venson (Linstead, Jamaica/Calabar) who crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 25:38.81 to contribute to the Warriors' team scoring.
In just his second collegiate cross country performance, Mohammed Al-Yafaee (Doha, Qatar/Aspire) placed ninth overall with a time of 26:30.54. Sophomore Brody Lucas (Norwalk, IA/Norwalk) and freshman Nik Davis (McCausland, IA/North Scott) placed 14th and 15th overall, respectively for the Warriors with times of 27:14.55 and 27:15.27 to round out the team scoring.
Sophomore Logan Soedt (Eldridge, IA/North Scott) placed 24th overall with a time of 27:31.97 followed by Keelan Aita (Bennington, KS/Bennington) in 34th place with a time of 28:33.33 and Jacchaeus Taylor (Kansas City, MO/Raytown) in 38th place with a time of 28:55.19.
Ford and Venson each earned NJCAA All-Region 11 and ICCAC All-Conference First-Team honors, just the second time in school history and first since 2018 the Warriors saw two individuals take the first-team podium. The duo becomes the first set of Indian Hills teammates to place in the top-five at the Region championship in school history.
Al-Yafaee collected both NJCAA All-Region 11 and ICCAC All-Conference Second-Team honors while Lucas was named to the ICCAC All-Conference Second-Team and to the NJCAA All-Region 11 Honorable Mention team. Davis was named to both the NJCAA All-Region 11 and ICCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention squads.
For his efforts guiding the Warriors to the program's best performance at the Region championship in school history, head coach Brent Ewing was named the NJCAA Region 11 DI Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
READ MORE: EWING NAMED CROSS COUNTRY COACH OF THE YEAR
Ford joins elite company in Indian Hills history, becoming just the second individual to place second overall at the Region championship, joining former standout Marcus Graham in 2018.
The Warriors will now set their sights on the upcoming NJCAA National Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, AL November 11.
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