Coolidge, AZ - The 2022 ACCAC & NJCAA Region I Cross Country Championships took place Saturday morning on the campus of Central Arizona College.

For the first time in its history, both championship meets were combined into one race. Scoring was separated to determine the overall conference champion along with the region champions for both Div. I and II.

Central Arizona and Pima were in the DI scoring. Coconino, Estrella Mountain, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, and Tohono O'odham were in the DII scoring.

The top 14 finishers in the ACCAC scoring earned all-conference honors (first team 1-7, second team 8-14) while the top 15 finishers in the DI and DII regional scoring earned all-region honors (first team 1-5, second team 6-10, third team 11-15).

ACCAC Recap:

In the men's 8K race, CAC won the team title with 30 points. PVCC were the runner-ups with 44 points while Mesa was third with 47 points. Pima (114), Coconino (163), Phoenix (169), and Glendale (196) rounded out the team scoring. Yotuel Garcia of Mesa won the individual title. Elliot Smith from CAC was the runner-up and his teammate, Alazar Getahun, was third.

In the women's 5K race, Mesa won the team title with 31 points. CAC were the runner-ups with 50 points while Coconino was third with 59 points. PVCC (119), Pima (122), and Phoenix (129) rounded out the team scoring. Hayley Burns of Coconino won the individual title as she edged out Kate Brockman from Mesa. Beatrice Keditukei from CAC was third.

Region I, DI Recap:

In the men's 8K race, CAC won the team title with a perfect score of 15 points while Pima were the runner-ups with 45 points. Smith, Getahun, Juilan Campos, Jorge Corona, and Gift Mashilo went 1-5 for the Vaqueros. Jonathon Lane and Abraham Valenzuela went 6-7 for the Aztecs.

In the women's 5K race, CAC won the team title with 17 points while Pima were the runner-ups with 45 points. The Vaqueras went 1-2-3 individually with Keditukei, Lisbet Porras, and Jaida Lyles. Marissa Lopez was the top Aztec runner, finishing in fourth place.

Region I, DII Recap:

In the men's 8K race, PVCC won the team title with 25 points while Mesa were the runner-ups with 31 points. Coconino (99 points), Phoenix (104 points), and Glendale (127 points) round out the team scoring. Yotuel Garcia and Javier Garcia from Mesa went 1-2 individually, with Nathan Pestka from PVCC finishing in third place.

In the women's 5K race, Mesa won the team title with 20 points while Coconino were the runner-ups with 44 points. PVCC (80 points) and Phoenix (83 points) finished third and fourth respectively. Burns from Coconino won the individual title, while Brockman and Anna Harmon from Mesa went 2-3.

The 2022 cross country season will wrap up with the NJCAA DI and DII National Championships on November 12th. Both meets will be raced at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

Click HERE to view the complete results of the ACCAC/Region I Championships.