College of Southern Maryland’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country team
earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX
Runner-up for Division I and placed third in MDJUCO at the championship
meet Oct. 25 at Anne Arundel Community College. Among those
participating for CSM were, kneeling from left, Michael Fray of Waldorf
and Alejandro Smith of Prince Frederick, and standing from left, CSM
Head Coach Christopher Tuttle, Jacob Mwanthie and  Christopher Jones of
Waldorf, Jacqueline Clark of La Plata, Rebekah Carson and Ian Njoroge
‘Macharia of Waldorf and CSM Assistant Coach Joshua Trice. The team
earned third in Maryland Junior College Competition. This was CSM’s
first year of competition with a men’s cross-country team.

The College of Southern Maryland’s Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country teams earned National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX runner-up for Division I and placed third in Maryland Junior College Conference (MDJUCO) at the championship meet Oct. 25 at Anne Arundel Community College. Two runners earned individual medals and spots at the national championships.

Jacqueline Clark of La Plata placed first overall in both the Region XX
and MDJUCO championships in the 5K race for women with a time of 20:41.
A graduate of St. Mary’s Ryken High School, Clark aspires to complete
at nationals in under 18:30. A soccer player turned runner, Clark says
the sport keeps her grounded.

“Running helps me stay focused,” she said. “It isn’t easy, and
that’s what makes it worth something. Nothing worth having is
easy.”

Christopher Jones of Waldorf placed first in the Region XX and second
in the MDJUCO championship for the 8K race for men with a time of 28:17.
Jones, who comes from a family of runners, didn’t start running until
he was a freshman at North Point High School, he said.

“I played baseball when I was younger,” he said. “It wasn’t
until I ran a race in middle school that I realized I was good at
running, so when I went into high school, I joined the track and
cross-country teams.”

Head Coach Chris Tuttle says that he and Assistant Coach Josh Trice
could not be any happier with the efforts put forth by both teams this
season.

“This performance, particularly for the men’s team, now sets the
bar high for upcoming years. Next year we will be looking towards
earning the regional team title,” Tuttle said.

CSM’s cross-country teams will be competing in the NJCAA National
Meet Nov. 8 in Levelland, Texas. For information on cross-country and
other athletics at the college, visit
http://csmd.edu/athletics/athleticshomepage.html.