COD Cross-Country Season Underway
After closing their 2016 season with outstanding performances at the National Junior College Athletic Association Regionals and a trip to the national competition, the College of DuPage men's and women's cross-country teams are hoping for a 2017 repeat.
The teams, led by second-year Head Coach Daniel Woldesilassie, are off to a good start with strong performances at their first meets of the season. At Aurora University's Sept. 8 Spartan XC Classic, freshman Ricardo Del Toro (26.:12.8) placed 12th in the men's, while sophomore Amanda Jones (23:31.2) placed 9th in women's and obtained a personal best in the 6,000 meters. COD's men's and women's squads finished eighth and seventh overall, respectively.
In women's, sophomore Fatima Chaurdhry, who finished among the top 10 overall at last year's regionals, set a season record with a time of 25:44.5. Sophomore Liz Alcantara, last year's first place regional winner, set a season record with a time of 26:08.8.
Among the men, sophomore Torrain Haughton (27:31.0) set a personal best, shaving 24.6 seconds off the season record he set last year. Fellow sophomore Henry Duhl also set a personal best with a time of 29:03.8.
“I think we're on par with where we were at this time last season,” Woldesilassie said. “My top female runner from last year (Liz Alcantara) is returning. Among the guys, I have three runners right now that I think could be in the top five.”
COD's squad has three meets remaining before the regional championships Oct. 28. The team next competes at the Gil Dodds Invitational Saturday, Sept. 16, at Wheaton College.
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College of DuPage is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, National Junior College Athletic Association Region IV and North Central Community College Conference (N4C). The College's Athletics program offers nine men's and eight women's sports teams each year, including outdoor track and field, indoor track and field, cross country, football, volleyball, golf, basketball, tennis, baseball, softball and soccer. All home games are played on the Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., and are free and open to the public.