Nevada State University Cross Country added another first to its inaugural season Friday morning, competing at home for the first time as the Scorpions co-hosted the Duel in the Desert with the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) at Floyd Lamb Park.
The historic home meet brought together runners from Nevada State, CSN, UNLV, Soka University of America, and Barstow Community College, giving the growing Scorpion program another opportunity to compete and build experience in its first season.
On the men's side, Nevada State turned in a strong team performance to finish second overall, trailing only CSN (UNLV does not run a men's team). Semaj Hall led the Scorpions across the finish line in the 8K, placing ninth overall with a time of 29:27.4. Bryan Aleman followed in 17th at 30:55.8, while Diego Avelar-Avila finished 19th in 31:12.2.
The Scorpions also showed their depth, with Ahmaree Lott (31:46.5), Arthur Hambardzumyan (32:00.9), Juan Lopez-Corona (32:07.6), Michael Cortez (32:11.0) and Tamari Hill (32:12.2) all finishing within a span of less than 26 seconds.
In the women's 5K, Julianna Ondrisko led the way for Nevada State with an impressive sixth-place finish in 20:02.9. Ondrisko was the first non-UNLV runner to cross the finish line, finishing directly behind a group of five Rebels at the front of the field. Eliza Miller followed in 14th at 21:17.8, with Monica Nieto placing 20th in 22:01.6.
Iliana Schweitzer (22:43.4), Abigail Thalman (23:46.6) and Adrea Santillan (24:07.1) rounded out the Nevada State finishers. The Scorpion women placed fourth overall, with UNLV taking the team title.
"Today was really special for our program," said Head Coach Roy Session. "To have our cross country student-athletes compete at home for the first time and see the support around the teams was exciting. We're still a young program and we know there is a lot of work ahead of us, but I continue to be proud of the way this group competes and gets better. Every race is another opportunity to build the foundation for what we want Nevada State Cross Country to become."
The Duel in the Desert marks another step forward for Nevada State's inaugural men's and women's cross country programs as the Scorpions continue building their foundation in their first season of competition.
