CMC women's XC team places 2nd in national meet

By Mike McKibbin
Colorado Mountain College

Nov. 11, 2024 - The Colorado Mountain College women's cross-country team made an impressive showing in an athletic association championship meet on Nov. 10.

Competing in their first United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship at the Penn State Fayette campus in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania, the women's team finished second out of seven teams with 71 points. They took home the CMC program's first-ever team trophy.

CMC joined the USCAA in the summer of 2024. In the previous several seasons, the Eagles competed in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

"This was a near-perfect day for the women's team," head coach Darren Brungardt said. "Finishing in second place in the country is a huge accomplishment. Every woman played a role in this and I am so proud of all of them for their tenacious efforts on this challenging course."

The course was technical and hilly with rain and temperatures in the low 50s, he added, "perfect for our high-flying Eagles."

The Eagles were paced by freshmen Aedy Barclay of Eaton and Lilianna Murphy of Parker in the women's 6K championship. They finished 9th and 13th, respectively, earning second-team All-American honors.

Barclay set a new school record of 25 minutes,15.4 seconds. Murphy's personal record time of 26:23.1 moved her into second place all-time in CMC school history.

Brooklyn German of Belding, Michigan, was third for the CMC women in 26:43.5 and set a two-minute personal record. German is a junior competing in her third national championship for the Eagles since the USCAA "has given an opportunity to our four-year students to continue competing," Brungardt noted.

German almost earned second-team All-American honors, he added. Placing 16th overall was "an incredible finish for the veteran Eagle. She ran out of her mind and passed so many runners."

Freshmen Lily Young of Lakewood and Niki Peterson of Colorado Springs rounded out the women's team scoring. They finished 27th and 28th and ran personal records with times of 27:49.4 and 27:51.9, respectively.

The top spot in the women's race went to Kaylie Dameron of Wright State Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio, with a time of 23:03.1. The top women's team was State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York. They had an almost perfect score with 20 points (lowest point score wins).

The men's 8K team race was also won by SUNY-ESF with 29 points. Eli Lemire of New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, New Hampshire, won with a time of 27:23.5.

CMC freshman Sean Vazquez of Holly was the lone Eagles men's runner. Vazquez's time of 31:11.0 placed him 24th.