Richmond, VA – Freshman Tiffani Koonce (Prairie City, IA/Prairie City-Monroe) put together one of the most dominant individual performances at the national meet in program history as the Indian Hills Women's Cross Country squad competed at the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Women's Cross Country 5K Championship at Pole Green Park.
Koonce and fellow freshman Jordyn Beck (Marion, IA/Linn-Mar) highlighted the Indian Hills competitors at Saturday's national meet.
Head coach Brent Ewing recapped the Warriors' performance as a whole as the men's side also saw a pair of impressive performances at the national meet. "As a group, we had some of the highest individual places we've had at the national cross country meet in program history. Sometimes I have to remind myself that they're all first year collegiate cross country runners. Their poise and consistency that they showed this season would lead you to believe they've been in these shoes before. I think that says a lot of about their future and the future of our program."
Koonce posted a time of 19:01.1, the second-fastest time in school history at the national meet. The freshman's time was good enough for a 48th-place finish, which serves as the third-highest finish all-time for the Warriors. Koonce, who has led the Warriors in each of the team's six meets this year, was just eight seconds shy of a personal-best performance.
Beck followed Koonce in the standings with a 78th place finish, clocking a time of 19:52.0, the second-time this season the freshman has broken the 20-minute mark in a 5k event.
Prior to Saturday's meet, Indian Hills previously had just two individuals in school history break the 20-minute barrier. Koonce and Beck doubled that total with Saturday's efforts.
Salt Lake Community College (UT) took the overall team title with 55 points followed by Iowa Central Community College and New Mexico Junior College. Elizabeth Ilanda of Odessa College (TX) was the overall individual champion with a time of 17:08.0.
Looking for Indian Hills Athletics information straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and mobile alerts to receive news, scores, highlights, and more in real-time: INDIAN HILLS ATHLETICS NEWSLETTER