(October 25, 2025) Bentonville, Arkansas - After their annual stop in Clinton, MS, the Bucks headed to Northwest Arkansas Community College on Friday in preparation for the NJCAA Region 2 Championship on Saturday morning. Coach Samantha Shores men's teams have won the Regional Championship 3 times in 8 season, while also finish as the Runner-Ups 3 other times.

The 8K race included Region 2 teams from Arkansas and Oklahoma with a total of 39 runners registered for the race. The Bucks would finish in 3rd place in the meet, despite the Bucks having the first team to finish 5 runners in the race. Northwest Arkansas CC won the region championship with Carl Albert State College finishing as the Runner-Ups.

Aiden Kimp (Mena, AR) led the way for the men with a 9th place finish overall with a time of 28:52.1. The next four finishers for the Bucks all finished consecutively from 12th - 15th place. 

Noah Burns (Weatherford, TX) had his best race as a Buck with a time of 29:11.7. The next finishers are Waldron natives with Landon Defoor running a 29:14.0 and Julio Alfonso Grano finishing with a time of 29:16.3. Alfred Rodriguez (Dalhart, TX) was right on Grano's heels with a 29:19.5. 

The final two racers for the Bucks was Ethan Mazzola (Benton, AR) and Camren Edward-Lynn Smith (Bella Vista, AR). Mazzola placed 23rd overall with a time of 31:08.1, while Smith ran a 31:37.4 that was good enough for 28th. 

Complete race results can be found at https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/27076/NJCAA_Region_2_XC_Championship_. 

The men will compete next at the NJCAA DII National Championship in Fort Dodge, Iowa on November 8th. 

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