WARRENVILLE, Ill. -- North Park Cross Country hosted the 2024 CCIW Championships on Saturday. North Central brought home the gold for the men while the Wheaton women led the way.
Four Vikings set personal bests during the race. For the women, Graduate Alexa Pawloski (27:04.56) and Freshman Melanie Sorisho (28:15.7) set personal best in the 6,00-meter race. On the men's side, Freshman Kai Foote (28:28.1) and Freshman Giovanni Del Carmen (33:41.3) also achieved personal best times in the 8,000-meter race.
Pawloski led the Viking women to start the day, finishing 72nd (27:04.56). Junior Erika Ver Beek ran a season best and placed 75th (28:15.1) with Senior Emma Klein close behind in 76th (28:44.0).
Junior Ali Karatas paced the men with a time of (27:23.43, finishing 59th. Freshman Kai Foote had a breakout performance with a time of 28:28.1 and finishing 70th.
Hear from Coach Kidane
"The men's & woman's team have made considerable improvement from a year ago, although it did not show up in the team scores today. I thought Alexa Pawlowski, Erika Ver Beek, Ali Karatas and Kai Foote competed well today; Emma Klein had a solid run as well.
Melanie Sorisho put together a very competitive race and was able to dip under 30:00 minutes today to continue her strong freshman season. However, the biggest star is Junior Alex Salmeron as he ran his 2nd race of the season after being hit by a car last year. To say that I am proud of him would be an understatement."
Emma Klein and Josh Brito were North Park's selections for the CCIW's RESPECT Award.
RESPECT Award
At the conclusion of every sports season, each varsity program will recognize one student-athlete as their RESPECT Award honoree. RESPECT Award recipients have distinguished themselves as an integral member of the team, their institution and community by upholding the values of Responsibility, Enthusiasm, Service, Pride, Excellence, Collaboration and Trust. The RESPECT Award recognizes the intangible traits a student-athlete possesses that exemplify great character and encourages inclusiveness and a positive culture.
Season Best:
Erika Ver Beek: 28:15.1
Ali Karatas: 27:23.5
What's Next?
The Vikings prepare for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Rock Island, IL on Nov. 16.
