Harper cross country teams capture national titles

The Harper College cross country teams are national champions - again.

This past weekend, running at the NJCAA Division III National Championship Meet, both the men's and women's teams from Harper successfully defended their national titles.

The men's championship is Harper's record eighth straight while the women claimed their third national title in a row.

The Harper men literally ran away with the title, scoring 38 points. Second place Sandhills had 83.

The Hawks' five scoring runners all placed in the top 12.

Leading the way was sophomore Michael Sisko, who placed fifth in a time of 27:40.46 on the 8K course at Holyoke Community College in Massachusetts. Sophomore Tony Espinoza finished in sixth place, freshman Jacob Melgosa was seventh, sophomore Jeff Glatz eighth and sophomore Jack Casey 12th.

The Harper women also finished with 38 points, far outdistancing Oxford College of Emory U., which had 89 points.

Harper sophomore Misbah Baig finished second in the 5K race, finishing in a time of 19:35.23. Tyesha James of Kingsborough, running as an individual, had the winning time of 19:30.83.

Sophomore Rachael Temple finished fourth for the Hawks while sophomore Taylor Kreiss was fifth, freshman Jessi Gessner 12th and sophomore Roxanne Temple 20th.