—Photo by Iowa Central athletics Iowa central’s Jonah Jahnke runs pass the grain elevator murals in Fort Dodge on Tuesday.

A runner’s high is a term often used to describe the transient state of euphoria that distance athletes experience when training or competing.

For Dee Brown, he is experiencing a form of that but in regards to being a coaching high after putting the finishing touches on a wild four days as host of both the NJCAA Cross Country and Half Marathon Championships.

Tuesday marked the final event of the two, as the Triton men secured a runner-up finish at the half marathon to go along with winning the cross country title this past Saturday at a snowy Lakeside Golf Course and Kennedy Park.

Iowa Western’s men rebounded to take team honors at the half marathon for a second consecutive season behind individual winner Barnabas Ndiwa, as Odessa won the women’s team title to complete the distance sweep. Iowa Western’s Juliana Sakat claimed the individual championship.

Ndiwa won for a second straight season and teammate Sakat set a half marathon record, finishing in 1:15.47.

“What a whirlwind several days,” Brown said. “Honestly, I haven’t even really had time to sit and take it all in yet. I am just so proud of the fact that we were able to give these athletes an experience like they deserve. It isn’t something that they get at every national championships, and we wanted to showcase to them what Iowa Central, Fort Dodge and this community can do.

“I told our team at one point that many of these athletes had the opportunity to come to Iowa Central, so let’s show them what they are missing out by not coming here.”

All three Triton runners placed in the Top-15, led by Chakib Cherkaoui Rhazouani, who was sixth overall in 1:06.10. Saad Rifi Loutfi finished 12th in 1:07.38, Said Rifi Loutfi was 15th in 1:08.44, Emmanuel Kiplagat placed 18th in 1:09.09 and Soufyane Laaziz was 23rd in 1:09.55.

Brian Kirwa finished 42nd, Jonah Jahnke was 81st, former St. Edmond standout Liam Shannon placed 125th and Brennan Boden was 130th.

“If you asked most of the men, (the half marathon) is not a race they would volunteer to do,” Brown said. “Most of them are 800 runners, but as the host, we wanted to put a team together and compete. I am just so proud of them for going out and doing that.

“I knew Iowa Western wasn’t happy with their performance this past weekend, so I figured they would come out strong. Credit to them, because they performed like they are capable of.”

The Iowa Central women placed seventh overall, as Abbigail Hutchinson was the top American finisher in seventh. She clocked a time of 1:19.47, with Hafsa Oukadou placing ninth in 1:21.08.

Fanny den Uyl was 58th, Fort Dodge Senior High grad Dari Cook was 74th, Kylie Melchi finished 94th and Alivia Edens was 95th.

“Our women had a fantastic meet,” Brown said. “Abbigail ran an incredible race and every single one of them gave it everything they had.”

Almost 200 men and over 130 women competed in the half marathon, which covered 13.1 miles of running through Fort Dodge.