Buccaneers Cross Country Teams Shine at Bobcat Twilight Meet

The men's and women's cross country teams from Dawson Community College kicked off their 2024 season with solid performances at the Bobcat Twilight meet hosted by Montana State University. Competing against a diverse field that included NCAA Division I teams such as Montana State, the University of Montana, and Boise State, as well as other NCAA and NAIA programs including MSUB, Montana Western, Montana Tech, Carroll College, and Carleton College, the Buccaneers made a notable impression. DCC was the only junior college team in the mix. Both the men's and women's races were 5K.

On the men's side, freshman Peyton Summers made an impressive debut, finishing 20th out of 77 competitors with a time of 15:39.0, securing the top spot among freshman runners. His performance was 34 seconds faster than his season opener last year. Aydin Jackson also showed significant improvement, crossing the finish line in 17:59.7, a 57-second advancement from his previous season opener. Trent Hamilton recorded a time of 21:02.6, narrowly missing his personal best but cutting over a minute and a half from his prior season opener. Unfortunately, Cody Harrington was sidelined due to injury.

For the women, Sierra Summers achieved a new personal best with a time of 19:07.3, finishing 13th out of 68 competitors. Clara Haslem also set a new personal best, running 21:55.4, a 3-second improvement. Abigail Stewart made a remarkable leap, improving her personal best by an astounding 4 minutes and 33.5 seconds with a final time of 22:34.1. Debra Don't Mix completed the race with a commendable time of 23:48.5. Fernanda Hernandez was unable to compete due to injury.

Head Coach Dempster Jackson commented, "Facing the level of competition that we did and performing so well is a tremendous confidence booster for our young teams. We are excited about our potential and look forward to achieving great things in the upcoming months."

For more information on the Dawson Community College cross country teams and their season, please visit www.DawsonBucs.com or contact Head Coach Dempster Jackson at djackson@dawson.edu.