Georgia Military College hosted the NJCAA DIII Cross Country National Championships at Council Farms just south of Milledgeville, GA on 11-13 November.  The course was used for training on 11 November and 12 November.  There were thirty-one different institutions from Missouri on the farthest to the west to the Northern Tier of New York in the North.  Two hundred and sixty-seven runners from around the nation gathered with their coaches and team officials.   

In dry, cool temperatures the men's 8k National Championship race started at 10am.  One of the strongest fields in recent history gathered on the start line to wait for a cannon shot to begin the race.  Hunter Phillips of Joliet Junior College proved to be no match for any other runner on the day.  His 25:39 8k time enabled him to earn the title of National Champion.  The top GMC runner was Jacob Reed (Thompson, CT) who ran a 29:06 and 45^th place.  Daniel Turnipseed (Blythwood, SC) finished in 54^th quickly followed by Chris Pombo (Brewster, MA) in 68^th.  These three all broke 30 min in the race, the first time this happened for GMC men this season.  August Curcio (Cumming, GA) finished in 85^th for 4^th place for the team.  He was followed by Aidan Garcia (Durham, CT) in 88^th, Jacob Cain (Brandon, FL) 91^st and Brandon Williams (Cadwell, GA) 92^nd.   The men's team finished in 11^th place with Joliet Junior College finishing in 1^st place.  Four of the Seven GMC runners had their season's best race.  Coach Rob Sherwood said, "This team has improved so much since August.  Despite the various challenges presented, these great men focused on did great in the last race of the season.  They were so much fun to coach, I will miss them."

The women's 5k started at 11am, in slightly warmer, but still great weather.  Julia Danko (Oxford-Emory) and the 2021 Champion Tiffany Lehmann (Joliet JC) went head to head.  Around the 2 mile mark, Danko surged ahead and won the individual title by 8 seconds.  The individual results reflected the team scores as well as Oxford claimed their first women's Cross Country National Championship.  The GMC Lady Running Bulldogs were led by a great pack of 4 women who all finished within 16 seconds of each other.  Tealani Wasson (Kuhuku, HI) finished in 26^th place, Jordan Prinner (Citrus Springs, FL) 28^th, Paige White (McCrae, GA) 29^th and Nova Kroll (Pittsburgh, PA) 30^th.  Piper Stephens (Melbourne, FL) 58^th, Madison Nimmons (Lexington, GA) 63rd and Kimber Moring (Folsom, CA) 76^th rounded out the scoring for the team.  Speaking of the women, Coach Sherwood said "All of the women had their season's best time or very close to it.  They ran great in the biggest race of the season.  I am so pleased with their work, their effort and their attitude.  They were a joy to coach, and represented the institution amazingly well."

The National Championships close the 2021 Cross Country season as the page now turns to 2022.  Full results are here - https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/17754/NJCAA_DIII_National_Championship. For more information about GMC JC Athletics, please visit www.gmcbulldogs.com.