WEST BURLINGTON - Southeastern men's and women's cross country team each claimed the DII Region 11 Championship Friday afternoon in Creston, IA.
The Southeastern men edged DMACC by just 1 point in Friday's contest. Brooks Julian led the way for the Blackhawks, taking second individually with a time of 27:15.80. Freddy Vergara and Ryan Kuhlman were not far behind, placing 6th and 7th respectively. This is the Blackhawks' first Region 11 title under head coach Lucas Keifer.
The Southeastern women claimed their second DII Region 11 title in two years, making them back-to-back champions. Leading the way was standout Aisha Ramone, who placed first in the DII individual race with a time of 19:26.66. Aisha's time was 54.55 seconds faster than the second place individual. The next Blackhawk to finish was Carissa Mackey, who finished fourth with a time of 20:41.63. Following Mackey was Brooklyn Moehle, who finished 7th with a time of 21:17.05, and Arianna Pedrin who finished with a 21:21.44, claiming 8th. SCC tied DMACC at 30 points, sending it to a tiebreaker where the Blackhawks edged the Bears 3-2.
Coach Keifer provided insight from the Blackhawks' big night, "Both teams ran well, our men stepped up huge to claim the region 11 title. Our top 3 all placed within the top 7, which was huge for us."
"On the girl’s side, Aisha defending her title was huge. We put 5 in the top ten, and I felt like we did enough," Coach Keifer explains.
"It was cold and the course was tough, but the teams ran well. The kids hung in there, and came out on top. To win both was fun, and made for a fun bus ride back. It really made it feel like everyone was a part of it."
The Blackhawks claimed SCC and Coach Keifer's second and third Region 11 title since coach took over in 2020. The Blackhawks travel to nationals on Saturday, November 11th to search for the program's first national championship