Michelle Sanchez finished 16^th at the National Junior College Athletic Association Cross Country Championships, earning All-American honors, while the women finished 17^th overall.

Sanchez ran a 19:02 5K race placing her 16^th at nationals. Zadie St. Louis was the next top finisher for Butler finishing in 77^th place running a 20:55. Stephany Lechuga ran a 21:30 5K finishing 112^th while teammates Shanique Masters (143^rd / 22:10), Victoria Duran (170^th / 23:00) and Hilda Kipruto (171^st / 23:01) were the other Grizzlies inside the top 200. Emily Tharp came in 225^th 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 32^nd out of 45 teams. They were led by Timothy Kimeli who finished 99^th overall with a 27:07 8K race. Anton Reeves finished 119^th with a time of 27:31 while Tarik Xavier was close behind finishing 129^th crossing the finish line at 27:43. Luis Manqueros finished 201^st with a time of 29:05 while Jaden Dawson closed out the Grizzlies scoring with a 263^rd 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.