Darton women finish 6th at DIII national championship

CANADAIGUA, N.Y. - The Darton State College Cross Country program nailed a pair of Top 10 finishes at the NJCAA DIII National Cross Country Championships in Canadaigua, New York, today.

The Lady Cavaliers finished 6th in the nation, and the Cavs finished 9th.

"It was a tough course to run and after a long trip to get here, we're happy to have two teams in the Top 10," Darton State College head cross country coach Bruce Skiles said. 

In the women's race, Amber Braswell led Darton to 176 points. The sophomore ran the 5K in 22:03 and finished 19th overall. Victoria Parra, Tatianna Forester and Stephanie Estrada ran as a pack and finished 34th, 35th and 36th, respectively. Shamicah Tardy finished 52nd, Katie Thompson 83rd and Elizabeth Rose finished 91st.

Mohawk Valley CC won the race with 63 points. Stephanie Boucher of Mohawk Valley won the individual title in 20:26.

In the men's race, Darton's frontrunner David Thornton led the first mile and then fell way back, finishing 4th for the Cavaliers.

"He had a tough race," Skiles said. "But my other guys did well."

Sophomore Austin Stewart led the Cavs, and finished the men's 8K in 30:09 to place 25th. Jelani Omari finished 32nd in 30:31, Jose Bautista finished 35th in 30:43, Thornton finished 62nd in 32:19, and Jon Henry Beers finished 95th in 34:54 to total 249 points for the Cavaliers.

Harper Community College won its fourth consecutive national championship with 28 points. Harper CC's Juan Barajas won the race with a time of 27:29.