(Kenosha, WI) – Four Waubonsee Community College Cross Country runners qualified for the 2022 NJCAA Division II National Championship Meet. The Chiefs' Logan Cunz and Jacob Weissensel, along with women's runners Marina Mercado and America Chavez, each finished in the top-15 at the Region 4 Meet on Saturday, October 29. The quartet will represent Waubonsee at Nationals on Saturday, November 12 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. The women's 6K race is set to begin at 11:15 a.m. (EDT) and the men's 8K race is scheduled to commence at 12:45 p.m. (EDT). For more information, go online to www.NJCAA.org.  

In the men's race Cunz covered the 8K Dannehl Cross Country Course at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in a time of 29:40 to place 12^th overall. Weissensel made a late charge to pass three other runners in the final kilometer and sprint his way to 15^th place, crossing the finish line five seconds ahead of Carl Sandburg College's Brian Kipchemis for the final berth to Nationals. The Chiefs' Huitzi Del Real came in 23^rd overall, Dominic Fiedler was 25^th and Owen Kroeyr was 29^th as coach Eric Baron's Chiefs finished a distant third in the team standings. Waubonsee's Nate Lundquist placed 33^rd and Clayton Burnette was 39^th to round out the Chiefs participants. Sandburg took the team title with 26 points to beat second-place Moraine Valley Community College by 12.

Mercado finished fourth overall in the women's race to earn All-Region honors and a trip to the sunshine state. The sophomore crossed the finish line in a time of 21:52 overall, while Chavez placed 11^th overall to also earn a spot at Nationals for the second straight year. Payton Heiden took 19^th place and Abbigail Placido came in 23^rd to round out the Chiefs' women's runners, as Waubonsee did not qualify for the team scoring. Carl Sandburg College won the women's title with five top-10 finishers on the way to scoring 25 points, holding off second-place Sauk Valley Community College by just six points.