Sports
Cyclone men's cross country team qualifies three for nationals
The Moraine Valley men's cross country team ran well at the conference and region championships with three runners qualifying for nationals.
Three Cyclones will carry the men’s banner into the NJCAA championship Nov. 8 in Lubbock, Texas, after their All-Region IV Division I performance on Oct. 25.
Yousef Khazneh (Richards) led the trio with a seventh place finish in 27:51, Anthony Briante (Evergreen Park) was next in 10th in 28:09 and Dawid Palac (Reavis) finished 12th in 28:13.
Rounding out the scoring for the Cyclones were Reavis grad Braulio Castellanos (24th, 29:23), Evergreen Park alum Justin Briante (27th, 29:35), Eisenhower product Jesus Rojas (28th, 29:37), Eisenhower alum Alejandro Montes (34th, 30:42). Also finishing were St. Rita product Anton Thauer (29:30), Evergreen Park grad Brandon Ceh (31:45), and Evergreen Park alum Larry Byrd (32:15). There were 71 finishers.
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The men’s team finished fourth in the 10-team championship at St. James Farm in Warrenville hosted by College of DuPage.
The Cyclones also finished fourth out of seven teams in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship. This year for the first time both championships were combined into one race.
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Khazneh, Anthony Briante and Palac were named to the All-Conference team with their fifth-, eighth- and 10th-place finishes, respectively. Castellanos crossed the line in 21st with Thauer in 22nd, Justin Briante in 25th, Rojas in 26th, Montes in 31st, Ceh in 36th, and Byrd in 37th out of 49 conference finishers.
“Our guys gave it their all, and we’re proud of their effort. Congratulations to Yousef, Anthony and Dawid—they are very deserving of their regional and conference achievement, and they will represent their teammates and Moraine Valley very well at nationals,” said Coach Mark Horstmeyer.
“Dawid is a two-time All-Region, All-Conference selection and national qualifier. Considering where he was back in August when he had to battle through a serious illness that gave him less than two months to prepare for Saturday, there isn’t enough praise I can give him,” Horstmeyer said.
“Anthony worked really hard over the summer, and it paid off for him. His first trip to nationals will be a memorable experience, and I’m really pleased for him,” his coach said. “Yousef has been our number one guy most of the season, and has done everything we have asked of him. I couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishment.”
