HCC trio set for NJCAA cross country championships
The miles paid off again this fall for the Hagerstown Community College men’s cross country team.
At the combined Region 20/Maryland JUCO Conference championships on Oct. 28 at Westmoreland County Community College, the Hawks left with both team titles for the fourth time in the last five years.
HCC’s top three runners — sophomore Tommy Bildheiser and freshmen Noah Schappell and Jackson Mundey — now are set to represent the school as individuals at the NJCAA Division I championships Saturday in Huntsville, Ala.
At the region/conference championships, Bildheiser placed second in 28:15.3 on the 8K (4.97-mile) course, while Schappell took third (28:26.8) and Mundey finished fifth (28:53.4).
The Hawks got the rest of their team scoring from freshmen Emanuel Enow (11th, 30:48.3) and Jake Scallion (19th, 32:18.2), while sophomore Luke McLister (23rd, 33:33.3) and freshmen Garrett Mastronardi (27th, 34:42.3) and Liam Fisher (29th, 35:04.1) also competed.
Project 7:40 is underway
Unlike HCC’s other recently successful teams, this current group is more about speed than distance.
“We recruited these guys not as cross country runners,” HCC coach Mike Spinnler said. “These guys are middle-distance runners. Except for Noah, they were all pretty much 400- and 800-meter guys out of high school. We had the idea of putting together some good relay teams, especially in the 4x800. And cross country is a big part of that, building that base in the fall.
“We kind of nicknamed ourselves Project 7:40, with the goal of running 7:40 in the 4x800. With Project 7:40, we felt as though our summer mileage and a good cross country season were paramount in importance in getting that base built to go after that 7:40 in the spring semester of 2024.
“We accomplished that mission, and we had some success along the way. We won the Hood College Invitational, we won the Goucher College Invitational, we won the Maryland JUCO title and I feel really good about that, and I know the guys do too.”
HCC’s national goals
Spinnler said the goal for his three runners at nationals is to place in the top 100.
At the national meet last fall in Tallahassee, Fla., Bildheiser was 86th out of 194 finishers.
“I told the boys, ‘We’re going down there to show these coaches that you have range, that you’re not just 800-meter runners, that you can really contribute in cross country as well,’” Spinnler said. “If you can get in the top 100 in the Division I race, and you’re an 800-meter runner, you really have made your point that you’re more than an 800-meter runner, that you can run 8,000 meters cross country with the 100 best Division I JUCO guys in the country.
“If you get in the top 100, you’re going to get some NCAA Division I, Division II and NAIA coaches’ attention.”
That is the real goal.
“Really, that’s our philosophy here at Hagerstown Community College. Winning titles along the way is nice, but getting the kids recruited, where their education hopefully is paid for after Hagerstown, is our primary goal and purpose,” Spinnler said.
HCC alumni set for NCAA D2 nationals
Three former HCC runners — Iggy Chalker, Gabe Conder and Henry Schmidt — will compete in the NCAA Division II national championships Nov. 18 in Joplin, Mo., after their strong performances at the Atlantic Regional meet last Saturday in Lock Haven, Pa.
Chalker placed second overall in the men’s 10K race in 30:17.2, helping Charleston narrowly win the team title.
For Davis & Elkins, which lost a tiebreaker to Charleston to finish second, Conder placed 16th (31:14.5) and Schmidt was 32nd (31:38.7) in the field of 157.
The top three teams qualified for nationals.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown Community College set for NJCAA cross country championships
