Rangers post best effort at national meet in more than a decade
What the Ranger College women's cross country team lacked in numbers, they more than made up for in talent this season. They proved that fact at the 2019 NJCAA National Cross Country Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Competing with just five runners, the Ranger College women sprinted to the team's best finish at the national meet in more than a decade. The team finished 15th overall.
The team's effort left RC head coach Kathy Graham impressed.
"This is the highest team place since the program's restart. I think that says a lot about the team's heart and determination to do well," she said.
Natali Mireles powered the RC effort. A freshman from Edcouch, TX, Mireles etched her name into the college's cross country history books. Her 36th-place finish in the individual standings ties the best-ever mark by an RC runner at the national meet. She finished the 5-kilometer outing with a time of 19 minutes 41.73 seconds.
Graham said the course's elevation made Mireles' run – as well as those turned in by the entire team - even more impressive.
"Those times and places were run at a 5,000-feet elevation which is quite impressive," she said.
Kaylyn De La Rosa and Aylin Huerta added to the Lady Rangers' success on the course. Both finished in the top 100 of a race that featured more than 250 runners from throughout the U.S. De La Rosa, a freshman from Rio Grande City, TX, placed 82nd with a time of 20:58.37, while Huerta was 96th at 21:12.87.
Huerta is a freshman from Donna, TX.
Yennifer Martinez and Fae Gonzales also did well for RC. The team's lone sophomore, Martinez placed 107th overall at 21:23.67. Gonzalez, a freshman from Corpus Christi, was 174th at 23:06.82.
Martinez is from Irving, TX.