Chatt Tech To Host Half-Marathon Championships Saturday

Editor's note: The story below was prepared by Chattahoochee Technical College.

The cross country program will host its first-ever national meet this Saturday, Nov. 19, when it welcomes hundreds of long-distance runners to Paulding County for the National Junior College Athletic Association half-marathon national championships.

The course for Saturday will begin at the Paulding County Government Complex near the in Dallas. The runners, from 23 different schools around the country, will start on local streets and enter the Silver Comet Trail at . After traveling along the trail for about 5 miles, runners will circle back onto the trail at McPherson Church Road to return to the finish line located near Tara Drummond Park. This portion of the trail has no more than a 6-percent incline and travels through scenic woods and over roads, creeks and streams. Multiple viewing points are available for fans and coaches.

The women’s race will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the men’s event to follow.

“We are very proud to host the nation's top junior college cross country teams at the NJCAA half-marathon national championships this Saturday,” Chattahoochee Tech Head Coach Steve Prettyman said. “Locally, Chattahoochee Tech, Darton College and South Georgia College will also be competing in the event. We expect some very exciting competition.

“The weather should be great with race-time temperatures expected to be in the mid-40s, perfect for a half-marathon,” Prettyman added. “We hope that the community can come out and cheer on the teams.”

The Chattahoochee Tech teams, which both competed at the cross country nationals last weekend in Hobbs, N.M., will be looking to bounce back from injuries to several top runners. On Oct. 29 in Albany, Ga., both the men’s and women’s squads qualified for nationals with second-place Region 17 finishes, and Hanna Hill won the women’s individual title with her fastest time of the year. Delonzo Sharp also finished third for CTC on the men’s side at regionals. Saturday’s event will give the Golden Eagles another chance to compete against region rivals Darton—which won both team titles back on Oct. 29—and South Georgia.

The race has attracted some of the top talent from around the country. Coach Chris Beene of South Plains College in Levelland, Tex., and coach Dee Brown of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa, bring powerhouse programs to Paulding County for the title race. Beene and Brown have both coached individual and team champions in previous half-marathon competitions, with the South Plains women winning the team title last season. Both are looking forward to tackling the Silver Comet Trail.

“It looks like a gorgeous course and it seems to be flatter,” Beene said. “I looked and saw some of the pictures of the course and I know that it’s a real beautiful part of the country, so that’s one of the reasons we decided to go ahead and come. Our kids are excited.”

Brown says he has high hopes for his Iowa Central teams this weekend, and notes that his men’s team has already prepared with a half-marathon race this fall.

“The half-marathon we ran here in Iowa earlier this year was a completely flat course and our guys ran some great times,” Brown said. “So if the course is similar to the one we ran earlier this year, I’m expecting to see some really great times from our guys.”

Both South Plains and Iowa Central are coming off of titles at the cross country national championships last weekend. Iowa Central took the women’s team title, and South Plains swept the individual titles with Natoya Goule and Kemoy Campbell.

Colleges from 12 different states will make the trip to Paulding County this Saturday. Competing will be:

• Chattahoochee Tech
• Clarendon College (Texas)
• Cloud County CC (Kansas)
• Darton College (Albany, Ga.)
• El Paso CC (Texas)
• Fashion Institute of Technology (New York)
• Gillette (Wyoming)
• Highland CC (Kansas)
• Iowa Central CC
• Iowa Lakes CC
• Iowa Western CC
• Johnson County CC (Kansas)
• Oakland CC (Michigan)
• Oakton CC (Illinois)
• Odessa College (Texas)
• Pasco-Hernando CC (Florida)
• Pima CC (Arizona)
• Ranger College (Texas)
• South Georgia College (Douglas, Ga.)
• South Plains (Texas)
• Spartanburg Methodist (South Carolina)
• SUNY Delhi (New York)
• Vincennes (Indiana)