Aleona Reyes has competed in five cross country meets so far this year, and is getting stronger as she goes.
Her latest race, a win here on Friday at the Jimmies Invite, was her third win in those five races. Her time of 18 minutes and 52 seconds, against a field of 60 runners, was her best time so far in a 5K race.
Reyes, from Belen, N.M. is just a sophomore, but is already running times in practice comparable to JC 11-time All-American Katie Conlon -- which is rarified air.
"I looked up to Katie. She was someone everybody would like to be like," said Reyes. "But I'd like to beat her someday, maybe? We'll see. She was awesome."
Reyes was named the Association of Independent Institution's Female Athlete of the Week on Monday, joining running back Lance Johansen as winners of the award from Jamestown College.
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Reyes dealt with severe health problems last winter, but has shown no ill effects and is quickly becoming one of the top runners in the NAIA.
Senior Madey Hornung, Katie Conlon's cousin and the second-place finisher of the Jimmie Invite at Hillcrest Golf Course, may have summed Reyes's season up best.
"Aleona is running 'Katie times,'" she said. "I'm trying to run 'Aleona times.'"
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The Jimmie football and volleyball teams won nearly swept the weekly Dakota Athletic Conference awards.
Running back Lance Johansen was named the DAC Offensive Player of the Week, while defensive back C.J. Costello was named Defensive Player of the Week.
Johansen ran for 184 yards on just 12 carries in the Jimmies' 28-12 homecoming win over Mayville State on Saturday. A big chunk of it came in the third quarter when the Devils Lake native broke off a 95-yard touchdown run that put the Jimmies up by four scores.
For the season, Johansen is averaging a whopping 7.7 yards per carry on 82 attempts. In all, he has 649 yards and 6 touchdowns.
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Costello has made an immediate impact in the secondary for the Jimmies.
In his first season the junior from Hanford, Calif., has 28 tackles and 1 interception. He had 5.5 tackles, 2.5 for loss Saturday against Mayville State.
The Jimmies (2-2 DAC, 3-4 overall) host Valley City State on a huge game for the 6-1 Vikings. A win for VCSU would all-but clinch an at-large bid into the national playoffs. The Vikings (4-0, 6-1) have just one game remaining after the Jimmies and it's against Robert Morris (Ill.), which is a first-year program that lost to Mayville State and barely beat Trinity Bible College.
The Jimmies would love to play spoiler against their No. 1 rivals, but they'll have to do it without quarterback Brad Lint, who is out for the season after breaking his collarbone on Saturday. Tyler Notch will make his first start.
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Jada Meiklejohn and Katie Lee continued ownership of the DAC setter and libero of the week.
Meiklejohn, the former LaMoure multi-sport athlete, has taken the setter award four straight weeks. She has 53 assists, 19 digs and 1 ace as the Jimmies split two matches last week.
Lee, a former Fargo South Bruin, had a perfect reception average (.1000) and 45 digs. She has been the DAC's top digger four times.
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The Jimmies are up to 18-9 and have all but locked up a bid to the A.I.I. tournament, which begins Nov. 9 at Arizona Christian in Tucson. The Jimmies also lead the DAC by 1 game over Valley City State (4-2, 10-16) and are ranked second in the latest A.I.I. rankings behind only Cal State-Marcos (19-6), ranked 15th in last week's NAIA top 25.
The Jimmies play at Mayville State (3-3, 20-11) on Wednesday.
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com
