Lady Lakers prevail over Comets in NJCAA Region 16 cross country championship

Cottey Comet sophomore, Victoria Kehler, nears the mid-point of the NJCAA Region 16 championship 5K event Friday evening. The Vancouver, Washington native dazzled, placing second, while also garnering All-Region 16 accolades.

By Matt Resnick | Daily Mail

The MCC-Longview Lady Lakers collected their fifth consecutive NJCAA Region 16 cross country championship, besting the host Cottey Comets on a chilly Friday evening at Frank E. Peters Municipal Golf Course.

With 11 total runners competing in the 5K, the Lady Lakers were boosted by the performance of sophomore Lila Dreves, who placed first with a time of 20:02, as Longview tallied 31 team points to Cottey’s 24.

Cottey runners captured the second and third-place finishes, with junior Victoria Kehler clocking a 20:08 en route to the runner-up spot, while freshman Christi Anne-Beatty slotted into third (21:55).

Several other Comet runners competed, including freshman Hannah Cameron, who placed seventh (24:20); freshman Maria Huertas, ninth-place, (26:19); freshman Sophie Wiess, 10th-place (26:53); and sophomore Keahlani Keene, 11th-place (28:53).

Comets runner, Christi-Anne Beatty, placed third.

Matt Resnick | Daily Mail

“These young ladies have worked so hard to get to where they are at,” said first-year Comets cross country coach, Tony Skiles. “This was a great start to something special.”

All-Region honors

For Cottey, both Kehler and Beatty netted All-Region 16 accolades, as the duo punched their ticket to the upcoming JUCO Nationals, set for Nov. 11 at Fort Dodge (Iowa) Community College.