Freshman Maeghan Easler of Saydel finished 39th overall to lead the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) cross country team to a 31st-place finish in the 2016 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship November 12 at El Dorado, Kan.
Easler toured the 5K (3.1-mile) course in 19 minutes, 32 seconds as the Bears finished the meet with 783 points. Lansing Community College (LCC) won the championship with 103 points and Leanne Pompeani of Iowa Central Community College (ICCC) won the individual title, crossing the finish line in 17:11.
Other DMACC results saw freshman Molly Eyerly of Winterset finish 100th, Chasity Moody of Baxter finished 202nd, freshman Ashley Kallas of Milwaukee, Wis., was 217th and sophomore Emma Saddoris of Jefferson was 225th. Eyerly was timed in 20:39, Moody turned in a time of 22:59, Kallas ran the course in 24:05 and Saddoris crossed the finish line in 24:25.
DMACC freshman Jada Wierck of West Des Moines and sophomore Blaire Benshoof of Boone also competed in the meet. Wierck turned in a time of 24:30, finishing in 227th place and Benshoof was 232nd with a time of 24:59.
The meet closed out the season for the DMACC cross country team.