Record-breaking cross country teams to be inducted into Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame

With its top-five runners finishing among the top 38 placers at the 2010 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Cross Country Championships in Spartanburg, S.C., the Cowley College men's cross country team backed up its No. 1 ranking by bringing home the program's first-ever national title. However, Cowley was not done there, as the Lady Tiger cross country team left no doubt as to who the best junior college women's cross country team was during the 2010 season, as they also captured the program's first-ever national championship. The teams will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 1 inside the Earle N. Wright Community Room.

The teams were led by then-head coach Vince DeGrado, who was in his fifth year at the school.

"I was naïve the toll it takes on a team across the board to compete for a national title and here we are talking about winning two in the same season," DeGrado said. "We came into the men's season already heavily confident with returners and recruits, and the entire team committed themselves to winning and doing whatever it took. While the women came into the season with a lot of question marks and on paper, I believe we had a good group on paper; however, how will that translate? This group of women were some of the meanest runners I had ever coached in terms of their drive and competitiveness."

At the national meet, the Tiger men (94 team points) finished 16 points ahead of national runner-up Central Arizona Community College. Meanwhile, South Plains Community College (118 team points) placed third. There were 36 teams vying for the national title.

DeGrado was named the NJCAA Division I Men's National Coach of the Year.

Sophomore Josh Gracia capped his stellar career by earning second-team All-American honors by placing seventh in the five-mile race with a time of 24:28. Freshman Cameron Balser (25:03) was the next to cross the finish line as he placed eighth and was also named a second-team All-American.

While, Tiger freshman Brock Hime's time of 25:47 was good enough for 15^th place and honorable mention All-American recognition.

Cowley runners Tyson Christensen (25:58) and Shaun Koehn (26:13) placed 26^th and 38^th, respectively. Freshmen Isaac Wilson (27:32) and Victor Others (30:58) finished 102^nd and 239^th and contributed to the Tigers' first-ever national championship.

"That team was running nonstop and talking about winning nonstop," DeGrado said. "When they were bored, they would go out on runs. If they were at a college social function, they would talk about winning; then the next morning, they would go on a run. I knew from that first week with them that there was something special. They never once let up, not for a second, until the end of the season."

The Lady Tigers (75 team points) finished eight points better than national runner-up South Plains Community College (83 points) and 11 points in front of third-place Lansing Community College (86 points). There were 38 teams competing in the women's race.

DeGrado was again named the NJCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

As they did all season, Lady Tiger teammates Purity Cheruiyot and Kaitlyn Belisle crossed the finish line one right after the other, with Cheruiyot (18:06) placing fourth in the 3.1-mile race and Belisle (18:15) finishing fifth. Both Cheruiyot and Belisle were named first-team All-Americans.

Cowley then had three runners follow each other across the finish line, with Val Bland (119:03) placing 22^nd, Cassy Kendrick (19:04) placing 23^rd, and Erika LaCroix (19:05) finishing 24^th.

Freshman Jessalyn Lanoy (19:10) was not far behind as she placed 29^th. Sophomore Leigh Ann Omarkhail (20:21) capped her Cowley career by finishing 90^th.

"I have yet to ever have a group of ladies that were this competitive with each other, and it spawned one of the greatest seasons the Jayhawk East/Region 6 has ever seen," DeGrado said. "To this day, they are still one of the best teams ever to come into the conference and region, statically speaking."

One week after capturing the program's first-ever national championships, the Cowley College men's and women's cross-country teams won the NJCAA Half Marathon Classic in Shawnee Mission, KS. The squads became the first NJCAA cross-country programs to win a conference title, region title, national championship, and half marathon in the same season.

DeGrado is glad his teams are getting the recognition they deserve by being selected for induction into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame.

"Statistically speaking, what we did as a whole was very rare, and the average person wouldn't understand what had to take place for this to happen," DeGrado said. "We had to avoid injury, sickness, and team chemistry issues. To do what we were able to do during our journey was very remarkable."