Temperatures in the low-30’s and three inches of snow may have made the course tricky to navigate, but that did not deter Atlantic Cape Community College sophomore student-athlete Alexandra Ramirez from finishing 24th out of 80 Division III runners at the 2025 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women’s Cross-Country Championships on November 8.
Ramirez, who was the sole runner on a second-year Buccaneers women’s cross-country squad, finished the 5,000-meter race, which was hosted by Iowa Central Community College at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge, Iowa, with a time of 23:30.3.
“I was extremely honored to have been able to go to this race and represent Atlantic Cape at the national level. I’m proud of my placement (24 out of 80) given the conditions of the day. I never thought I’d make it this far because when I started the season I was battling an injury and could barely run a mile without pain,” said Ramirez.
In her two other 5,000-meter races this season, Ramirez set a personal record time of 21:26.6 on October 11 at the NJIT Cross-Country Invitational in Branch Brook Park, NJ and despite still recovering from a stress fracture in her left tibia suffered during last year’s Atlantic City Marathon, which she courageously completed in 3:51:13 and placed 13th out of 75 runners in her age 20-29 group, Ramirez finished third and earned a bronze medal with a time of 22:57 in her first race on September 28 at the Jersey Blues Invitational at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ.
In her only 6,000-meter race this season, Ramirez set another personal record time of 26:23.8 on October 18 at the Border Battle at the Gloucester County DREAM Park.
Atlantic Cape Buccaneers women’s cross-country Head Coach Shane Ritchie marveled at the toughness of not only Ramirez, but of all the hundreds of competitors taking part in the numerous races on that wintery day.
“They exemplified grit, dedication and perseverance at the highest level. As a student and an athlete, Alex has shown this even more so. While many students would be happy to graduate with a degree, and in Alex’s case with a bachelor’s, not many would go back to school and pursue an additional degree,” said Ritchie. “She follows her passions, dedicates herself completely to achieving whatever goal she sets, and ambitiously pursues that goal to the finish regardless of whatever obstacles may be in her way.”
After earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Rutgers University – New Brunswick in 2024, Ramirez decided to further pursue her love of art by enrolling at Atlantic Cape for the 2025 Fall Semester. She still had one year of NJCAA eligibility thanks to a season lost due to the pandemic, which allowed Ramirez compete on this year’s women’s cross-country team.
With transferrable Art credits on her official college transcript, Ramirez is currently taking 12 credits worth of prerequisite classes from Art in Ancient Times/Gothic Era and Fundamental Drawing to Introduction to Computers and Art with Computers.
“It is was an honor and privilege to be able to have coached such an impressive student-athlete. To have a top 25 finish out of the 80 best Division III female cross-country runners in the country is a level that will most certainly be difficult to replicate and something to strive to achieve and exceed again,” said Ritchie.
Visit https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/271697/results/all to view full results from the NJCAA Women’s Cross-Country Championships.
Visit atlanticcape.edu/athletics/womens-cross-country for more information.
