Freshmen Lead Men's Cross-Country team at Region 20 Championships - Ohene Obiri Yeboah earns All-Region Honors placing 5th, Dallas Turner places Top 10

October 25, 2025 - Youngwood, PA - CCBC Catonsville XC / T&F Head Coach Mark Pryor has coached on the NCAA Division-I level, high school and now the NJCAA level. That means, he has seen it all and experienced a lot in his 28-year career coaching in T&F.  But his team this year is comprised of 95% freshmen who have no college experience other than the 5 meets they have competed in since coming to the CCBC Catonsville program in August. Coach Pryor has leaned on sophomore Ronak Rami all year to lead this young team, but the stakes were a lot higher in their first ever college region championship meet. 

 

The NJCAA Region 20 Championships decides who has the best cross-country team in the junior college ranks head-to-head from MD to West Va within Division I, II and III.  The list of teams that competed at Westmoreland Community College included:

 

Alleghany College of MD, Anne Arundel CC, Carroll Community College, CCBC Essex, Hagerstown CC, Howard County Community College, Pennsylvania Highland CC, Potomac State College (WVa) and host Westmoreland CC. 

 

Several schools in Region 20 do not have cross-country as a sport in their athletic program (Baltimore City CC, Chesapeake College, Cecil Co. CC, Garrett College, Prince George's Co Community College, Montgomery Co CC and CCBC Dundalk).

 

In 2023, Coach Pryor won his first Region 20 team cross-country Championship, qualifying for the NJCAA National Championship.  Current sophomore Ronak Rami was on that team as a freshman. In 2025, Pryor was hoping to win another title with a very young team. All season long; Pryor trained his athletes with the goal of running their best when it most counted at the Region Championships. The invitationals were used to test his team's fitness level and give them confidence from all the different courses and levels of competition they faced. The trick about coaching is to be able to guide your team in performing well on THAT day at THAT time. 

 

The weather was a crisp 50 degrees the morning of the race, but the sun was shining bright and made the day an excellent day to run distance. As the Cardinals lined up, Pryor reminded his team that this competition was sorely based on what place each runner finished which decides the team points. The team with the lowest score wins. Thus, each runner had to be aware of who was in front of them and behind them. It was the highest level of competition this young team had faced. The 8k (5.0 mile) course was 99% grass with a minor incline but with some winding turns and a fast flat finish.

 

As the gun went off, each CCBC Catonsville runner positioned themselves together and ran as a tight pack. After 2.5 miles, the pack of the Cardinals 5 scorers were together in the Top 12 led by freshman Ohene Obiri Yeboah who was in the top 5. Surprisingly, freshman Dallas Turner was closely behind Ohene and battling for position. CCBC Catonsville was in the lead at that point in the race but there was still 2.5 miles remaining. 

 

It was at this junction in the race that Pryor knew the team title would be decided. Which runners could finish strongly, hold their position, improve it or be passed and lose vital points. The teams hotly battling for the Region 20 title were Carroll CC, Potomac State College and CCBC Catonsville. All three schools are in the NJCAA Division II ranks along with Howard CC and CCBC Essex.

 

With just one mile to go, Caroll CC's number #1 runner was clearly in the lead to win the individual race title. But closely behind was a fierce battle of the three teams whose athletes' changed positions as they moved toward the finish line. Potomac State College had their top runner in 3^rd place but behind him were three of his teammates sitting in 7th, 8^th and 9^th place.  Carroll CC had their #2 man securely in 4^th place, but their remaining 3 scorers were not moving up. Coach Pryor watched as Freshman Elijah Walker was enjoying one of the best races of his season. Unfortanely, the same couldn't be said for the Cardinals #4 and #5 scorers who were not in the top 10 and fading. The Cardinals 4^th and 5^th scorers were both behind all the 5 scorers of Potomac State College who scored 38 points. 

 

As the athletes fought hard and crossed the finish line, it was apparent which team had won the team title: