RC women run to 5th at NMJC Invite

The Ranger College women's cross country team continued to show signs of improvement last weekend. The RC squad, backed by a top-20 finish by freshman Jessica Thomas-Billot, climbed to fifth in team standings at the New Mexico Junior College Invitational. Ranger rolled up 145 points in the 5-kilometer race, which was held on Sept. 28 at Harry McAdams Park in Hobbs, N.M.

The team's performance left RC head coach Kathy Graham pleased.

They are greatly improving in their fitness and determination," she said. "The women's team improved two minutes a runner, on average, since our last race."

Thomas-Billot continued to make her presence in the NJCAA ranks. She legged out a time of 20 minutes, 37.7 seconds. Her time was less than four seconds off a top 15 finish.

El Paso's Everlyn Kemboi won the women's race with a time of 17:43.5. Her run helped EPCC edge out Lubbock Christian for the team championship.

Catherine Lopez added to the Lady Rangers' success. She sprinted across the finish line in a time of 21:29.8 and placed 27^th.

As a team, Ranger College had five runners place in the top 50 in the nine-team event. In addition to solid outings from Thomas-Billot and Lopez, the Lady Rangers also notched a 42^nd-place run by Alexandria Luna and a 44^th-place effort from Breanne Irish. Yenifer Martinez legged out a 47^th-place finish.

Other RC runners competing in the race included Ezrie Gates (55^th), Alexandra Evans (61^st), Genesis Cruz (62^nd), Mia Garcia (70^th) and Marissa Gonzalez (74^th).

The Ranger College cross country team returned to action on Oct. 6 when they traveled to Levelland to compete in the South Plains College Invitational.