A few of Central Arizona's distance athletes qualified for the NJCAA National Meet which was held at Hutchinson, Kansas on Saturday.  

Samuel Gilson, Jessica Chaparro Viera, Jayden Smith, Emmanuel Simiyu, and Japhet Kiprono all represented CAC and the cross country teams at the championship meet.  Each athlete went into the meet ranked lower than others but left succeeding their ranking, running their best when it mattered most. 

Samuel had the nations 8th best 3k Steeple time going into the meet but ended up placing 5th overall with a personal best of 9:06.33 earning him All-American status (Top 8 in Nation). Samuel also placed 8th overall in the 5k, earning his second All-American award. Sam was ranked 13th going into the meet. Sam graduates from CAC with personal bests of: 10k-31:51 (20th All Time), 5k-14:19 (10th All Time), 3k Steeple-9:06 (6th All Time), 3k-8:27 (4th All Time Indoor). He will be competing for Wingate University in the fall.    

Jessica had the nations 25th best 10000 meter time going into the meet but ended up placing 12th overall with a personal best of 38:25.38. Jessica also placed 25th in the 5k, she was ranked 53rd going into the meet.  Jessica graduates from CAC with personal bests of: 10k-38:25 (5th All Time), 5k-18:36 (2nd All Time Indoor), 3k-11:06 (10th All Time Indoor). She will be competing for ACU in the fall. 

Jayden had the nation's 31st best 3k Steeple time going into the meet but ended up placing 12th overall with a personal best of 9:40.62. He will look to improve on his standing with the Vaqueros in the 25-26 school year. 

Emmanuel had the nation's 77th best 800 time going into the meet but ended up placing 33rd overall with a time of 1:56.64. He will look to improve on his standing with the Vaqueros in the 25-26 school year.

Japhet had the nation's 26th best 10k time going into the meet but ended up placing 19th overall with a time of 31:58.56.  He will look to improve on his standing with the Vaqueros in the 25-26 school year. 

"I am ecstatic with how Sam, Jessica, and Jayden did at the championship meet"  Stated Head Coach Jon Harmon, "Emmanuel and Japhet will be stronger next season, more importantly everyone that competed placed ahead of a lot of other runners with better marks. Excited to see their transition into cross country season."