Gaston College's top moments from 2022-23: No. 6 Cross country's Perez qualifies, competes in NJCAA national championship

In the wake of Hurricane Nicole, on a course that had been soaked by heavy rains, Gaston College's Victoria Perez reached the pinnacle of her splendid sophomore season November 12, 2022, in the National Junior College Athletic Association cross country championships.

The former Gastonia Highland Tech standout logged a 134th place finish out of 183 runners, navigating the Apalachee Regional Park course in Tallahassee, Fla., in a time of 23 minutes, 20.8 seconds.

In following up her third-place time in the Region 10 championships on Oct. 29, Perez turned in a performance that made her the highest finisher among Region 10 runners who competed in the NJCAA championships.

"Although the course had dried up nicely from Hurricane Nicole, the hot and humid conditions resulted in slower than anticipated results from all runners," Gaston College cross country coach Kody Kubbs said. "Vic ran a strong race and represented Gaston Collage amazingly."

Perez, who became at that time the first individual national tournament competitor in Gaston College history, was joined at the NJCAA nationals by teammates Rein Norton-Small, Stefani Vergara-Delgado and Andrea Ortiz.

Kubbs and his runners attended a pre-race banquet at Florida State University's Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium.