Gaston College's top moments from 2022-23: No. 8 Cross country records team score in Region 10 championships

The Gaston College women's cross country program took its first big step forward on a misty, rainy day in late October 2022 at the Milliken Arboretum course in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Rhinos had been building confidence and gaining experience through the first two months of the season, and the blossoming unfolded in the NJCAA Region 10 championship meet.

Victoria Perez confirmed her status as an elite runner by taking third place individually, and Gaston College's 10 runners combined for a second-place team score.

The team score was historic in that the Rhinos were competing against the best competition that Region 10 had to offer, putting a crowning achievement on first-year coach Kody Kubbs' rebuilding effort.

In finishing as Gaston College's individual medalist for the ninth time in the school's nine meets and notching third place, Perez earned All-Region honors and qualified for the 2022 NJCAA national championships in November 2022 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

Also scoring points for Gaston College in the Region 10 event were Stefani Vergara-Delgado (25:06.27 for 9th overall and 5th-place team score), Rein Norton-Small (25:30.20 for 11th, 7th), Andrea Ortiz (27:45.95 for 15th, 8th), and Audrey Krupa (28:31.02 for 18th, 10th).

"The Region 10 championship race was the focus of our training throughout the summer and fall," Gaston College coach Kody Kubbs said. "The ladies ran an excellent race and gained a lot of experience to carry us forward to 2024."