Photo by Iowa Central Athletics: With snow still falling, the Iowa Central men's cross country squad hoists the NJCAA Div. I national championship trophy on Saturday afternoon at Lakeside Golf Course inside Kennedy Park.

The Iowa Central men’s path to a sixth national cross country championship was far from clear.

In fact, it was packed — with both competitors and the white stuff.

Fort Dodge was blasted with nearly three inches of snow on Saturday, making Lakeside Golf Course inside Kennedy Park a literal whiteout for the six national meet races.

The Tritons, who were runner-ups at the regional tournament almost two weeks ago to champion Iowa Western, reversed their fortune and finished on top of the NJCAA Div. I world yet again.

“I cursed myself for saying I’d rather have snow than rain,” said ICCC head coach Dee Brown. “I didn’t think we would get this much. The snow definitely brought its own issues.

“It started coming down and kept coming.”

The Tritons made their move at the 7k mark of the 8k run at Lakeside. At the 6k spot, the Tritons had 73 points, while Hutchinson was in the lead with 70. At the 7k mark the Tritons fell to 78, while Hutchinson gained a point at 69 for a nine-point lead.

In the final stretch, though, Iowa Central gained 20 positions to finish with 58 points — 11 better than Hutchinson (69).

“They were still nine (position) points ahead of us at 7k and I thought we were probably done,” Brown said. “I was riding with my family and we were looking at the live results and the signal kept going in and out. My son was like, ‘we won’ once we got to the top of the hill, but the score kept changing. I thought there was just no way.

“I went over to the Hutchinson coach, who was a former runner of mine. I got text after text congratulating us. It just wasn’t sinking in and it still really hasn’t,” said Brown on Saturday night. I’m so proud of and happy for our guys.”

Hutchinson took the first two spots on the individual podium, as Cornelius Kogo (24:54.7) earned the winning time and Titus Kiprotich took second.

Iowa Central runners were next in line at third and fourth place, respectively, with Chakib Cherkaoui Rhazouani (25:08.4) and Saad Rifi Loutfi (25:12.6). Hutchinson’s third and fourth runners were seventh and 27th.

Iowa Central’s Said Rifi Loutfi (25:47.2) was 12th and Soufyane Laaziz (25:56.7) was 17th. Through four runners, the Tritons led by one point (36-37). Iowa Central’s Taha Ouchene (26:12.1) came in 22nd for the final tally of 58.

Hutchinson’s final runner was 32nd.

“Iowa Western beat us by four points at regionals, and out of 10 races, it would be 5 to 5,” Brown said. “That reaffirmed our confidence two weeks ago on our home course that we could avenge the (loss) when it mattered most.

“The guys were really focused and more talkative around the coaches and animated and excited. They were just ready to go.”

On the women’s side, the Tritons (377) came in ranked 15th and grabbed the 16th spot. Odessa (54) came away with the Div. I championship, while Iowa Western (127) was runner-up.

Mildred Rono (17:11.1) of Hutchinson was the individual gold medalist, followed by Juliana Sakat (17:52.3) of Iowa Western.

Hafsa Oukadou (18:48.5) had the top finish for the Tritons individually, claiming the 10th spot. Abbigail Hutchinson (19:27.8) was 24th.

Fanny den Uyl (21:59.4 in 112th place), Alivia Edens (22:15.9 in 123rd), Kylie Melchi (22:25.5 in 126th) and Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Dari Cook (24:38.3 in 163rd) rounded out the lineup.

“It was our goal to break into the Top 10 for the women, but we came in 15th and placed 16th, so we are OK with that,” Brown said. “It was a great day for Abby, who was celebrating her birthday. She got hurt in track, but didn’t want to say anything because she is one of those tough kids and wants to run.

“Now she’s at full strength. It wasn’t what she wanted, but she didn’t lose a spot and is ready for a great track season.”

In Div. II, Lansing (32) was the men’s champ, followed by DMACC (110). Lansing placed four runners in the Top 10, while the Bears top finish was eighth.

Esteban Boisseau (26:15.8) of Cowley was the Div. II winner, and Nate Carmody (26:28.5) of Cowley took second.

On the women’s side, Mesa (54) finished on top in Div. II, followed by Paradise Valley (87). Arianna Mason (18:43.9) was the champion and Roane State’s Savannah Rivers (18:47.2) the silver medalist.

In the first race of the day in Div. III, Harper (55) became the men’s title holder and DuPage (68) followed. Onondaga’s Paul Clark (26.50.0) was the winner individually. Joliet’s Nathan Ciarlette (26:57.9) was second.

On the women’s side in the Div. III race, Laney Vecchio (20:20.5) earned gold and Tyliyah Diaz-Cruz (20:32.8) of Thaddeus Stevens took silver. DuPage (56) was the winner. Mineral Area College (69) was second.

The Tritons now host the NJCAA National Half-Marathon championship race on Tuesday.