Lady Roadrunners claim third consecutive Region 16 Div. II championship

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Lady Roadrunners cross country team finished in seven of the top eight positions to claim another Region 16 Division II Cross Country Championship on Friday, Oct. 25 at the Crowder Cross Country Course in Neosho.

Freshman Malia Rodgers, Montgomery City, covered the 5K course in a time of 20:56.5 to finish second. Rodgers recorded the best finish for SFCC. Freshman Alexis Riddle, Independence, finished in third place with a time of 23:57.1. Sophomore Emma Rinaldi, Belton, finished fourth with a time of 25:26.8. Freshman Bethany Slovensky, Wellsville-Middleton, Missouri, finished in fifth place in a time of 26:49.9. Sophomore Emily Ramirez, Sedalia, finished sixth with a time of 27:03.7. Sophomore Cheyenne Evans of Odessa, Missouri placed seventh with a time of 29:12.0. Sophomore Giovanna Rocha, Brazil, finished eighth with a time of 30:43.5.

"The course was rough but flat and the athletes could really get out and race," said Head Coach Brad Hagedorn. "The ladies ran arguably their most complete team race of the year. Our more inexperienced runners held their own, while Malia, Alexis and Emma led our team to the win. We look forward to traveling to Richmond for our Nationals in two weeks."

Rodgers and Riddle earned All-Region honors for their efforts.

David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics