-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Iowa Central women place first during the NJCAA Regional Championships on Sunday at Triton Cafe in Fort Dodge

However, Dee Brown has certainly created something very, very close to just that.

Brown’s Iowa Central cross country program swept the Region XI Championships on Sunday at Lakeside Golf Course. They also maintained control of the men’s individual title in the process.

While that is impressive enough, a deeper dive into the history of the regional event shows just how dominant and in control the Tritons have been.

On the men’s side, Iowa Central has won the last two Div. I regional titles and nine in a row dating back to 2012. Yared Kidane’s winning run earned the program an 11th consecutive individual title.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Iowa Central men place first during the NJCAA Regional Championships on Sunday at Triton Cafe in Fort Dodge

However, the Triton women have been even better. Since 2004 when the program was born under Brown, Iowa Central has never lost a regional title. Not to Iowa Western. Not to North Iowa Area. Nobody in the region has solved Brown’s ability to get his team as prepared as possible come postseason.

The veteran head coach was the first to admit that dealing with injuries has not been an easy season for the women. It all came together this weekend, though, as Chloe Garcia Grafing led the way.

Grafing finished second with Taylor McCreedy, Zinash Valen and Britney Brown all right behind her in the Div. I standings. Kate Miron, Brook Haley, Kenzie Kaperka and Raylene Williams also ran for the Tritons.

For the men, Kidane was first with teammate and defending regional champion Aspel Kiprob placing second. Zander Cobb completed the 1-2-3 sweep by scoring bronze. Will Sacay was also in the Top-5, with Brady Hogan, Ayenew Devany, Jed Elmbarki, Baylor Bergren and Joseph Ashai Wright completing spots six-through-10 in the Div. I standings.

Iowa Central tallied just 17 points, one over the minimum of 16, to easily race past Iowa Western. The 17 points were the fewest they have scored since posting 16 back in 2013, which started the current run.

The Tritons will now set their sights on adding more hardware when they head to Tallahassee, Fla. for the NJCAA Championships on Nov. 12.

Iowa Central has placed in the Top-6 each of the past 14 seasons with eight national titles during that span on the women’s side, while the men have five titles and five more runner-up finishes since 2005.

Cross country is not the only sport dominating the conference at Iowa Central, as the volleyball team recently put a stamp on a fifth consecutive ICCAC Div. II regular season title. The win came on the road over fellow Top-10 Kirkwood in five-set classic.

Under Sara Horn, the Tritons have turned into not only a regional power, but one on the national scene, placing in the Top-4 each of the past two seasons. Iowa Central has moved into a regional championship, which takes place Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse vs. Hawkeye.

The Tritons have put incredible rotations out on the court during this run with the likes of Kealey Anderson, Alesha Johnson and others earning All-American honors and more. Katilyn Steffes, though, could go down as the best of them all, as the third-year sophomore continues to leave her mark on the history books.

Dana Becker is a sports writer at The Messenger. He can be reached at (515) 573-2141 or dbecker@messengernews.net