麻豆映画传媒

MCC鈥檚 Hardy takes first at NJCAA cross country regionals, gets set to compete at Nov. 9 nationals with fellow runner Annette Fare

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There鈥檚 nothing like saving the best for last to close out a season in sports.

麻豆映画传媒 (MCC) freshman cross country student-athlete Ryan Hardy (Stanton, Mich.) broke a personal record (PR) in 8K racing and finished in first place at National Junior College Athletic Association鈥檚 (NJCAA) Cross Country Region XII Championships, held at Goodells County Park in Goodells, Oct. 25.

Hardy finished with a time of 28 minutes, 5.10 seconds, beating out second place-finisher Aidan Pena by almost 2-1/2 minutes, as Pena finished with a time of 30.32.50. Hardy鈥檚 previous PR was 28.56.

MCC鈥檚 Keegan Shafer (Vestaburg, Mich.) took third, finishing with a time of 31.19.60.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it,鈥� a humble Hardy said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize I was close to my PR until the last mile or two. I was surprised then and thought maybe I might come close.鈥�

Centurions Head Coach Kevin Sweeney was astounded by Hardy鈥檚 accomplishments, stating he just kept getting faster each mile.

鈥淭hat was what was really impressive, the fact that he got faster than the previous mile, cutting his PR by almost a minute. You don鈥檛 see that very often,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淗e ran really well.鈥�

Hardy鈥檚 time at the NJCAA Regional XII Championship meets a school-standard qualification time that allows him to participate in the NJCAA National Championships at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday, Nov. 9. He will travel with Sweeney and fellow women鈥檚 cross country student-athlete Annette Fare to participate in the race.

Both Hardy and Fare will be the first male and female MCC student-athletes to compete in the NJCAA Cross Country Championships.

Sweeney said all junior college runners are eligible to participate in the NJCAA National Championships, however, some schools, like MCC, set standards that the student-athletes must meet in order to qualify for the trip.

鈥淭hose college standards are many things, like meeting a certain finish time, has that person made practices consistently, is that person a good student, things like that,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淩yan has met all those standards, dropping nearly a minute off his personal record, and he鈥檚 never missed a practice, puts mileage on his own time even, is one of the team鈥檚 captains and he鈥檚 a great student. So, he deserves to go, and I couldn鈥檛 be happier.鈥�

Now that he is expecting to compete in the National Championships, Hardy said he plans to just enjoy the moment when he gets there.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 planning on qualifying so I wasn鈥檛 expecting this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith my new PR, I guess I set the bar higher for myself, but I think it鈥檒l be a fun experience. I鈥檝e never been to Virginia so I think I鈥檓 just going to enjoy the experience of racing with a bunch of people from across the country and have fun with it.鈥�

MCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).