Montoya, Najman sign letters of intent

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Sports

November 18, 2015 - 12:00 AM

The Allen Community College men’s cross country had two of its top runners sign their letters of intent with Division I schools Tuesday afternoon.
Pedro Montoya and Ben Najman, two of the Red Devils’ most accomplished runners this cross country season, signed with Wichita State and Florida State, respectively.
Montoya will finish out the year at Allen and begin his tenure at Wichita State in the fall of 2016.
Najman, on the other hand, will wrap up this semester and then head off to Tallahassee to start his running career at FSU in the spring.
Each runner had considered other schools before finally landing on their ultimate decisions.
Montoya, who was recruited by the University of California-Berkeley and Notre Dame out of high school, was considering several D-II schools out west but decided staying in Kansas was his best option.
Najman, who hails from the Bahamas, was also looking at WSU as well as the University of Kansas but wanted to run closer to his home. ACC assistant coach Josh Gracia, a former runner for the Seminoles, also helped Najman land a spot with FSU.
The two sophomores recently competed in the NJCAA National Championship in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where they led the Red Devils to a sixth-place finish overall.
This past cross country season was their second under coach Vince DeGrado.
“It’s just cool to see because they earned it,” DeGrado said. “Anybody that was in their ear telling them what they shouldn’t do, they still listened to themselves and went out and did it. And now, look at them.”

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