SNYDER — Placing three runners in the top five, the third-ranked South Plains College women's cross country team edged New Mexico Junior College to win the NJCAA Region V Women's Cross Country title Saturday on the campus of Western Texas College.
The Lady Texans finished with a final team score of 35, a final team time of 1:37:55.9, with an average time of 19:35.18. New Mexico Junior College was second with 41 points, followed by El Paso Community College and Ranger College.
Sophomore All-American Gladys Jemaiyo led South Plains in the women's 5k with a final time of 18:42.66, good enough for second place overall. Freshman Daisy Kibet earned a fourth-place finish with a time of 18:54.11 for the Lady Texans, while sophomore Dorcus Ewoi was fifth in a time of 19:09.09.
Itzel Garcia-Santos earned a 10th place finish for South Plains as the sophomore from Veracruz, Mexico clocked a final time of 20:15.15, while Angela Rodriguez placed 18th in a time of 21:39.88.
The Texans were unable to place in the final team standings competing with three runners but placed two in the top 11 in Snyder. Sophomore standout Alex Kitum led the Texans with a sixth-place overall finish, running a 27:05.20 in the men's 8k. Freshman Abdirizak Ibrahim took 11th overall, posting a time of 28:00.00.
El Paso won the men's division with 20 points, followed by Ranger, New Mexico Junior College, and Western Texas College.
South Plains will be off next weekend before traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the NJCAA Cross Country National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9.