GovState Men's Cross Country - Daniel Zavala sets new school record and places 84th - Samuel Rocio finished in the top 20 freshman runners and placed in the top 170 @NAIA Nationals Friday in Missouri

GovState Men's Cross Country at Mational meet, November 22  - Daniel Zavala sets new school record and placed 84th - Samuel Rocio finished in the top 20 freshman runners and placed in the top 170, 325 runners total - @NAIA Nationals Friday 11/22/24 in Missouri.

GovState Men's Cross Country - Daniel Zavala - Samuel Rocio - To NAIA Nationals Friday in Missouri

NAIA Nationals CC Course location - Friday, November 22 -Gans Creek County Golf Course, Columbia, MO

Jaguars Head Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach John Niendorf comments on his two NAIA qualifiers - 

"I was so proud of the way these two young men performed at Nationals. Daniel broke the school record and ran a 25:04 8k, a feat that is difficult to do. His finish placed him third amongst CCAC athletes that made it to Nationals. He ran with a lot of heart and had a great finish to the season. Samuel Rocio ran a 25:35 and placed within the top 25 of the fastest freshmen in the country. The future is bright for Sam and I can't wait to see what his future holds here. Overall, these two ran with a lot of tenacity and grit today. The team is young and next year these two should be right at the front at Conference leading the way for the Jaguars."

-Below - Daniel Zavala and Samuel Rocio at Nationals in Missouri -

"I am so excited to take these two young men down to Nationals. This will be Daniel Zavala's second go around for Nationals and we are expecting a big personal record for him. I think that his veteran experience running in this type of elite field last year is going to help him out a lot throughout the race. For Samuel Rocio, he has surpassed all of my expectations for him this season, so I would love for him to go out and shoot for a personal record. He is only a freshman, so this will be a great chance for him to get out there and gain some experience in a big race like this."

"I have heard that the course is fairly fast, so I am excited to see what type of times these two men can run. I am expecting this to be the fastest Nationals event that the NAIA has ever put on, depending on how the conditions shake out. The race is going to go out very fast and if you want to put yourself in a position to do well, you have to get out fast and stay up with the pack. This is something that is never easy to do with a field of this size and caliber," Coach Niendorf said.