Finishing Strong in last season of Division I
By Julie Newell
Sports/Photo Editor
The LCC cross country teams competed in the NJCAA Division 1 Championship Nov. 9 in Albuquerque, N.M.
LCC is a Division II school, but because there is no Division II championship, LCC and other Division II schools competed in the Division I championship.
"It was a very competitive meet," LCC Head Coach Jim Robinson said. "Everyone, from our first runner to our seventh runner, gave their very best effort."
The women's 5K race resulted in LCC placing 10th as a team. Sophomore Claudia Bayro led the Stars by placing 36th with a time 19:48.
Following Bayro for LCC was sophomore Anne Lyon, who placed 66th with a time of 20:36, freshman Kayla Crawford in 87th in 21:05, freshman Deziree Shaw in 91st with 21:07, and sophomore Fatuma Jillo in 102nd in 21:18.
"Anne Lyon also had an outstanding season," Robinson said. "She went from being unnoticed in the middle of the pack to being one of the very best runners in the region, by hard work."
The men's 8K race had LCC placing 17th. Sophomore runner Dillan Haviland came in 64th for LCC with a time of 26:36.
"Our top runner, Dillan Haviland, has been dealing with a little injury," Robinson said. "But he ran really tough and was, again, our top runner."
After Haviland came sophomore Jacob Ferguson in 71st with a time of 26:42, freshman Joel Fudge in 94th in 26:58, sophomore Chris Davis in 123rd in 27:35, and freshman Aaron Hulburt in 125th with a time of 27:39.
"We had fun, they ran hard, and I think we scored about as well as we possible could score," Robinson said.
Robinson commented on both teams' accomplishments this fall.
"If you look over the course of the season, every meet we ran we beat all the two-year colleges with two exceptions: the meet that we went to Oakland Community College we didn't run our top three guys … and then at our regional conference championship, Cuyahoga won that," Robinson said.
For the season for the women's team, Bayro had the best time of 19:03. For the men's team, Haviland had the best time of 25:34.
"They truly are a really good group of student athletes; they support each other, they work hard," Robinson said. "This was, from my perspective, one of the easiest and most fun groups to work with I've had in my time here."