GovState Cross Country makes strides at Nationals
The Governors State University (GovState) cross country teams continue to set school records for 2023 with their most recent accomplishment: three Jaguars qualified for the November National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Nationals, the most ever in a season for GovState cross country.
Krysta Stanko, Brandon Armendarez and Daniel Zavala all qualified as individuals and made the university proud with their runs. Krysta ranked 228th in the women's race, while Brandon and Daniel ranked 68th and 142nd, respectively, in the men's race.
"I was really happy with how Brandon and Daniel represented GovState at Nationals. Brandon went for All-American and nearly got it. He ran with a lot of guts out there. Daniel finished in the top half of the race in the best field the NAIA has to offer," said John Niendorf, Head Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach.
“Krysta ran a great race out there! It is so hard to make it to Nationals as a freshman and I thought she ran fantastic. She beat a lot of runners that beat her at conference,” continued Niendorf.
This is only the beginning for these three with Krysta being a freshman, Brandon a junior, and Daniel a sophmore. The GovState community looks forward to seeing each of them grow as they continue their journeys.
"I am so proud of Krysta, Daniel, and Brandon. They put in the work all off season and ran tough all throughout the cross country season. These three truly deserve this. The best part of this is that these three are such good people, that you can't help but be happy for them," said Niendorf.
To read more on the cross country team's nationals experience, click here. To keep up with all things cross country, check out the men's team newsroom and the women's team newsroom.