Sanchez finishes 16th, named All-American at NJCAA Cross Country Championships
Michelle Sanchez finished 16th at the National Junior College Athletic Association Cross Country Championships, earning All-American honors, while the women finished 17th overall.
Sanchez ran a 19:02 5K race placing her 16th at nationals. Zadie St. Louis was the next top finisher for Butler finishing in 77th place running a 20:55. Stephany Lechuga ran a 21:30 5K finishing 112th while teammates Shanique Masters (143rd / 22:10), Victoria Duran (170th / 23:00) and Hilda Kipruto (171st / 23:01) were the other Grizzlies inside the top 200. Emily Tharp came in 225th with a 25:43 finishing time.
"We didn't finish the way I thought we would have but it's a big improvement from last year on the women's side," said head coach Dustin Mettler.
"I am so proud of Michelle," commented Mettler. "She brought improvement, leadership and grit to this team. She taught everyone, both the women and men on our team day in and day out what it takes to be successful."
The men finished 32nd out of 45 teams. They were led by Timothy Kimeli who finished 99th overall with a 27:07 8K race. Anton Reeves finished 119th with a time of 27:31 while Tarik Xavier was close behind finishing 129th crossing the finish line at 27:43. Luis Manqueros finished 201st with a time of 29:05 while Jaden Dawson closed out the Grizzlies scoring with a 263rd place finish at 31:38.
"If our number three runner on the men's side didn't go down and dislocated his shoulder, we might be having a different conversation," said Mettler. "I think the men could've been a top 25 team or even snuck into the top 20 if that wouldn't have happened."
Juan Tovar was the Grizzly that was unable to finish due to an injury sustained during the race.
"This season was a breath of fresh air. We had kids who believed in the process and it showed in the race results. About 90% of our team had personal records this year," mentioned Mettler.
Butler closes out the Cross Country season on a high note and will now look to the track season just right around the corner.
"I'm looking forward to having the whole squad together. Sprints, jumps and throws have been working hard all semester long and I can't wait to combine all of us into one team," said Mettler on the upcoming track season.
The cross country season is a time to compete, but also an opportunity for the student athletes to train for their track events.
"The training they got during cross country season is going to help them in their respective events," said Mettler. "Some will be moved down to the 800m and some will still be running the 5k.