NWACC Eagle 5K and Fun Run

Event raised funds for nationally ranked cross-country team

by Keith Edwards

Reporter

NorthWest Arkansas Community College hosted its second annual Eagle 5K and Fun Run on Nov. 19 at the Bentonville campus on the college’s cross-country course beside the Center for Health Professions building. The race was to benefit the nationally ranked NWACC cross-country team. 

Aries Burasco, from Rogers and second year NWACC cross-country runner, won first place with a time of 17 minutes, 40.2 seconds, in the men’s division and Esmeralda Sandoval, a senior from Rogers High School and Mountie cross-country star, finished first in the women’s division with a time  of 19:52.85. Burasco, a Computer Information Systems major, was the first signee for the cross-country team.

“The NWACC Eagle 5K and Fun Run is an outstanding event to help promote our outstanding NJCAA cross-country program as well as our college,” said John Luedtke, associate head coach. Luedtke is also an NWACC faculty member and administrator who was instrumental in the approval of the school’s cross-country program. “We are so proud of how many students, faculty, and staff stepped up to make this event a huge success. We appreciate Signature Bank for being our lead sponsor,” added Luedtke.

Luedtke’s versatile and impressive career involved coaching baseball at Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Lamar University before heading to NWACC. In addition, he was also a scout for the Cincinnati Reds. He holds a master’s degree from Mississippi State University. This is NWACC’s first National Junior College Athletics Association sport.

The race was divided between runners and walkers. Both men’s and women’s 1st through 10th – place finishers received medals and all participants received a commemorative medal. There was a fund-raiser raffle table of various objects to raise money for scholarships and benefit the NWACC track team. 

The men’s track team finished fifth in the nation with the women’s finishing 18th in the NJCAA DII Cross-Country Championships this year. 

“We were thrilled to see so many of our student athletes, community members and NWACC family at the second annual 5K and Fun Run. This is a great event to show our support for the NWACC Cross-Country program, which has seen incredible success in its first two seasons,” said NWACC President Dr. Dennis Rittle. “I congratulate Coach Boit and Coach Luedtke and our men and women runners for another amazing season. We are very proud of them.”

Second-year Emmanuel Kipchirchir of Kenya received All-American honors and finished sixth overall. Second-year Dylan Mayberry, of Bentonville, finished third overall with an All-American nod as well. The NJCAA Nationals were held in Tallahassee, Flordia on Nov. 12.

On a 7-1 vote in Nov. 2019, the NWACC Board of Trustees, under the leadership of former President Evelyn Jorgenson, approved the addition of the cross-country team. Jorgenson was present at the fundraising event. That 2019 vote also led to the hiring of Head Coach Josphat Boit along with Luedtke. 

Boit is a former University of Arkansas athlete and coach. Boit racked up many accolades and remains the second fastest 8K cross-country runner in Arkansas and is one of three Razorbacks to win consecutive SEC individual titles. He was a professional runner for 10 years prior to signing with the college. Under the leadership of Boit and Luedtke, NWACC has been placed on the national cross-country track map in a relatively short period of time and the future is looking bright for the new program. The school currently has 10 scholarships to divide between men and women.