(Galesburg, IL.) - Waubonsee Community College's Gaby Juarez-Marrufo led the way for the Chiefs at the dual Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) and Region IV Division I Meet on Saturday, October 26. The sophomore finished third to earn All-ISCC honors and eighth overall to garner All-Region status as well. Elizabeth Hess came in 30th overall, while Rebecca Sweeney was 34th, Maira Weitkamp was right behind her in 35th place, and Ezbeydy Rivera placed 41st out of the 51 participants. Waubonsee finished third in the ISCC standings with 68 points as Moraine Valley won the title with a score of 50, eight points ahead of second-place Morton College. In the Region the Chiefs were fifth overall with 83 points. The host school Carl Sandburg College won the women's title with 53 points to edge the College of DuPage by just two points.
In the men's race Waubonsee's Jordan VanBarriger left the competition far behind as he ran off with top title. The Chiefs' sophomore earned the Runner of the Year title for both the ISCC and Region by covering the soggy 8K course in a time of 26:42, coming in a full 0:35 ahead of the next runner to cross the finish line. The first place finish is the third this fall for VanBarriger, having won the Aurora University Spartan Classic on September 13 and the St. Ambrose University Fighting Bee Invite on October 12. Teammate Brad Osuch earned All-ISCC honors by finishing fourth among conference participants, while also achieving All-Region status with a 14th place finish overall. Dalton Klingensmith, who placed 27th overall, still joined that duo on the All-ISCC team by being the 10th ISCC runner to cross the finish line. Waubonsee's Noah Robinson placed 57th overall out of the 76 competitors, while C.J. Girolamo and Cristian Driscoll were 64th and 65th respectively. As a team the Chiefs finished third in the ISCC with 60 points, well behind first place Morton College's score of 37. Waubonsee also placed seventh in the Region with a team total of 142. Bryant & Stratton College from Milwaukee (WI) won the Region team title with 77 points, beating second-place Harper College by seven points.
Juarez-Marrufo, VanBarriger and Osuch each will now move on to compete in the 2019 NJCAA Divison I National Championship Meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, November 9 at the University of New Mexico's North Golf Course.