Juliana Sakat Wins Women's Half Marathon; Team Finishes as Runner-up

FORT DODGE, Iowa - Iowa Western Women's Half Marathon and Cross Country teams finished as the National Runner-up after a pair of races at Lakeside Golf Course.  

The Reivers finished Friday's race with 127 points, behind only Odessa, who won the event with 54 points. Juliana Sakat, Elizabeth Ewusie, Hafssa Boutrich, Wijdane Inzaline, Norah Sjerven, and Mya Curtis all finished inside the top 50, Sakat earning runner-up honors with a time of 17:52.3.

Four days later, it was Sakat defeating Odessa's Milicent Wafula by almost two seconds to claim her first half marathon title.  Her time of 1:15:47.3 sets a new NJCAA HM record and is also the Ghanian national record.  The team again finished in second place, 9 points behind the Wranglers.  Ewusie, Boutrich, and Inzaline all earned a top 20 finish.