Three area runners compete at NJCAA Region XI meet
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Three collegiate athletes who had cross country illustrious careers in the area competed at the NJCAA Region XI cross country meet Sunday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.
Ryann Portch, a freshman at Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo, was second in the Division II Women’s 5K event with a time of 19:30.45. Her time was fifth overall when Division I and II times are considered. Portch is a 2020 AHSTW graduate who placed eighth in the 2019 Iowa Class 1A state girls’ meet and led the Lady Vikes to a third-place team finish.
Two Atlantic graduates also competed. Jalen Petersen, a sophomore at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, was fifth in the Division II men’s 8K race with a time of 27:14.38. Bradley Dennis, a freshman at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, was 32nd with a time of 29:16.52 in the Division I 8K race.
Petersen graduated in 2019 and Dennis in 2020, and both were key members of state-bound Atlantic cross country teams. Both also earned individual state meet berths, Dennis in 2016 and Petersen in 2017.