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MCC’s Hardy takes first at NJCAA cross country regionals, gets set to compete at Nov. 9 nationals with fellow runner Annette Fare

There’s nothing like saving the best for last to close out a season in sports.

Montcalm Community College (MCC) freshman cross country student-athlete Ryan Hardy (Stanton, Mich.) broke a personal record (PR) in 8K racing and finished in first place at National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Cross Country Region XII Championships, held at Goodells County Park in Goodells, Oct. 25.

Hardy finished with a time of 28 minutes, 5.10 seconds, beating out second place-finisher Aidan Pena by almost 2-1/2 minutes, as Pena finished with a time of 30.32.50. Hardy’s previous PR was 28.56.

MCC’s Keegan Shafer (Vestaburg, Mich.) took third, finishing with a time of 31.19.60.

“I didn’t expect it,” a humble Hardy said. “I didn’t realize I was close to my PR until the last mile or two. I was surprised then and thought maybe I might come close.”

Centurions Head Coach Kevin Sweeney was astounded by Hardy’s accomplishments, stating he just kept getting faster each mile.

“That was what was really impressive, the fact that he got faster than the previous mile, cutting his PR by almost a minute. You don’t see that very often,” Sweeney said. “He ran really well.”

Hardy’s time at the NJCAA Regional XII Championship meets a school-standard qualification time that allows him to participate in the NJCAA National Championships at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday, Nov. 9. He will travel with Sweeney and fellow women’s cross country student-athlete Annette Fare to participate in the race.

Both Hardy and Fare will be the first male and female MCC student-athletes to compete in the NJCAA Cross Country Championships.

Sweeney said all junior college runners are eligible to participate in the NJCAA National Championships, however, some schools, like MCC, set standards that the student-athletes must meet in order to qualify for the trip.

“Those college standards are many things, like meeting a certain finish time, has that person made practices consistently, is that person a good student, things like that,” Sweeney said. “Ryan has met all those standards, dropping nearly a minute off his personal record, and he’s never missed a practice, puts mileage on his own time even, is one of the team’s captains and he’s a great student. So, he deserves to go, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Now that he is expecting to compete in the National Championships, Hardy said he plans to just enjoy the moment when he gets there.

“I wasn’t planning on qualifying so I wasn’t expecting this,” he said. “With my new PR, I guess I set the bar higher for myself, but I think it’ll be a fun experience. I’ve never been to Virginia so I think I’m just going to enjoy the experience of racing with a bunch of people from across the country and have fun with it.”

MCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA).