Posted: Nov 04, 2018
For a second straight season, RCGC iron man Mike Dowd earned All-American honors during the NJCAA Division III National Championships at Stanley Park in Westfield, MA on Nov. 3.
The Runners, coached by Ryan Hughes, placed sixth overall in the men's race with 221 team points. Harper College repeated as national champion with 38 points.
Dowd, a former Williamstown High School standout, covered the 8 K course on a wet and windy day in 27:18.47. He placed just behind national champion Daniel Taylor of Sandhills College -- Taylor's winning time was a 26:32.37.
National team champion Harper College then dominated the remainder of the top-tier pack, placing five finishers among top 12 placewinners.
The next runner to place for the Roadrunners was freshman Noah Cziryak, who finished No. 19 overall in a time of 28:34.93, while teammate Jake Kolodziej checked in at 22nd with a time of 28:37.42. Jerry Olivera placed 57th overall in 30:00.95.
In the women's race, the Harper (IL) Hawks successfully completed their three-peat after taking home the 2018 NJCAA DIII Women's Cross Country National Championship for the third consecutive year. The Hawks scored a low-score of 38 on the Stanley Park 5k course.
Tyesha James on Kingsborough (NY) captured the individual title, narrowly edging Harper's Misbah Baig with a time of 19:30.83.
RCGC's top finishers proved to be first-year runner Lyndsay Boyd (Pitman), who clocked a time of 21:40.28 for a 22nd showing overall, and sophomore Ali Bone (Schalick), who checked in at 91st overall in 25:56.27.
Tori Nugent (115th) and Nicole Reed (120th) rounded out the top finishers for he Runners, who placed 11th overall in the team race.