Zane "Iggy" Chalker achieves All-American status at NJCAA national XC and Half Marathon meets
November 20, 2020
Fort Dodge, Iowa - Hagerstown Community College's Zane "Iggy" Chalker ran his way onto two All-American teams last week, as the Williamsport, Md. freshman earned NJCAA All-American honors in the 2020 Half-Marathon and NJCAA Division I Cross Country All-American second team. Henry Schmidt also received the honor of NJCAA Coaches' Association All-American in the Half-Marathon for his 14th place finish.
The Hawks men's cross country team took six of the top seven spots in the Men's Region XX/MDJUCO Cross Country Championships, hosted by Hagerstown, on October 31. After a strong showing at the Region XX/MDJUCO championships, the team was poised to challenge in both the cross country and the half marathon national championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
"Because of the pandemic, it felt like we draped a net of protocols over this team in order to protect them from any transmission of COVID-19," said Hagerstown Athletic Director Bob Rohan. "In a time when protocols seem to be continually changing, we were very happy with the coaches' and the players' willingness to cooperate with every restriction we placed on them during competition this year."
Hagerstown first competed in the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on November 14. Chalker, who has set the pace for the team most of the season, began the race in the top 15 after the one-mile split and he seemed to get stronger with each mile. At the two-mile split, he was in the top 10, and by the three-mile split, he was in the top eight. After holding off at least one challenger, he finished the race in 8th place, earning second team All-American honors. As a team, Hagerstown finished in 9th place with 262 points, getting strong finishes by Trentin Overcash in 40th place and David Butts in 61st place. The team also got points from Henry Schmidt and Gabe Conder finishing 70th and 83rd, respectively. Head coach Mike Spinnler said, "the guys really came through as a team. Iggy [Chalker] was spectacular! [He is the] first [Hagerstown] student-athlete to crack the top-ten at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships since 1980."
Three days later, the Hawks competed in the NJCAA Half-Marathon National Championships. Chalker finished third individually to earn All-American honors. In the 13.1-mile race, Chalker hit the five-mile split in the top five, then proceeded to gradually make his move into fourth at the 10-mile mark, before ultimately finishing in third place with a time of 1:09:17.50. The team had an astonishing 5th place finish nationally earning 37 team points, within only five points of the two teams ahead of them and more than 15 points ahead of the teams behind them. Henry Schmidt earned his Coaches' Association All-American honor by placing in the top 20 with a time of 1:37:12.9. Hagerstown also received strong performances from Trentin Overcash (23rd), David Butts (34th), Gabe Conder (41st), and James Buchheit (42nd).
"After a season of so many uncertainties and change, we are glad the team had a chance to compete," Rohan said. "We are equally grateful that all the coaches and athletes are safe and sound and back in their homes. This was a successful trip on both fronts."