Heartland Hawks chase National Championship titles

[November 11, 2021] 

Four Heartland Community Athletics teams have stormed through the post-season and will compete for a national championship.

Women’s & Men’s Cross Country

Both Hawks cross country programs are making a run for a national title Saturday, November 13 in Richmond, Virginia. This is only the second year of cross country program, with each season concluding with a trip to the NJCAA DII National Meet. The Women’s Cross Country team heads into the meet ranked #1.

The Hawks runners look to improve on the finish of an impressive 2020 season. Last year at nationals, the women’s team took home a second place finish and the men earned fifth. Together, the Hawks had five runners earn All-American honors.

The men will run the 8K race at 11:15 a.m. and the women will run their 5K at 12:45 p.m.

HCC Cross Country teams are led by Head Coach Ty Wolf.

Women’s Soccer

After a 1-0 victory over No. 16-ranked St. Louis Community College in the District Finals, Hawks women’s soccer punched their ticket to the national championship for the second season in a row.

“I am so proud to be a part of this team,” said Bekah Nielsen, goal keeper for the Hawks. “Day in and day out, everyone worked so hard to get back to Nationals. We’re ready to show teams why we are ranked number one.”

The national tournament will be held in Wichita KS from November 15-20. The #1 ranked Hawks will kick off the tournament with two pool-play games and, if they win their pool, they will advance to the semi-final game.

The #1 ranked HCC Women’s Cross Country Team at the starting line.

Heartland’s soccer programs are captained by Norman Ramos. The 2021 fall season marks Ramos’s first as head coach.

Women’s Volleyball

Hawks volleyball is also a young program making a splash. In only their second year of play, the Hawks Volleyball team earned a spot in the NJCAA DII National Tournament with a three-set win against Spoon River College in the District B Championships on November 6.

“I’m extremely proud of this program, form every player to administrator that has made this happen,” said Head Coach Mary Frahm. “This milestone is a culmination of small efforts every single day for the last two years to get here. That endurance has gotten us to this point, and we are thankful for the opportunity to represent Heartland at the national tournament.”

Nationals will be hosted in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from November 18-20.

[Steve Fast
Director, Public Information
Heartland Community College]