CMC Eagles complete cross-country running season

Men’s and women’s teams travel to Virginia for national collegiate competition

The Colorado Mountain College Eagles cross-country running team on Nov. 13 competed in their second national championship in CMC’s history, concluding their 2021 racing season. The team traveled to Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Virginia to race against hundreds of college runners at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division 1 Cross Country 2021 Championships.

Top women’s finisher for CMC was Abby Hagen of Lockport, Illinois who placed 65^th overall in the 5K race with a time of 20:30. Jason Macaluso of Vail was the top runner for the men’s team running to 118^th place with a time of 28:11 over the 8K course.

Clocking six personal records at the meet were Reese Fledderjohn, CJ Brenny, Abby Hagen, Kaylynn Shaffer, Hope Maldonado and Carmen Tallbear-Edmunds. Hagen achieved a new school record, and Anais Garcia ran a season best.

“The women ran one heck of a race,” said head coach Darren Brungardt. “They held nothing back and it showed in their times and overall result. The men had a tough day, but still ran great as a pack.”

The race signified the last competition for Macaluso’s CMC racing career. Since 2019, he has been the top male CMC runner in all but two races. Also running in their last cross-country races for CMC were Reese Fledderjohn, Madisen Johnson, CJ Brenny, Autry Lomahongva, Adam Garcia and Dylan Dunbar.

“It’s been so inspiring to coach this amazing group of athletes,” said Brungardt.

CMC’s men’s team was ranked 24^th in the country, and finished 23^rd, while the women were ranked 20^th and finished 19^th.

“In our third season, we continued to see our program grow and develop even throughout these challenging COVID years,” said CMC Athletic Director Angela Dunn. “Darren and I are excited with the progress we’ve made and cannot wait to see what the future holds for our team.”

CMC’s cross-country team is now in its third year, and is based at CMC Leadville, though team members can train virtually at any of the college’s 11 campuses. For more information about the team, visit this page.

Meet results for CMC runners

Men’s 8K results

118^th Jason Macaluso (Vail, Colo.) 28.11

132^nd Reese Fledderjohn (Grand Junction, Colo.) 28:37

137^th CJ Brenny (Hastings, Minn.) 28:46

156^th Luke Plummer (Seymour, Ind.) 29.49

158^th Autry Lomahongva (Kayenta, Ariz.) 29.54

170^th Adam Garcia (Erie, Colo.) 30.51

185^th Dylan Dunbar (Silt, Colo.) 33:13

Women’s 5K results

65^th Abby Hagen (Lockport, Ill.) 20:30

85^th Kaylynn Shaffer (Salida, Colo.) 21:17

96^th Hope Maldonado (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 21:48

131^st Anais Garcia (Erie, Colo.) 23:18

141^st Madisen Johnson (Windsor, Colo.) 24:22

152^nd Carmen Tallbear-Edmunds (Charlottesville, Va.) 25:58