Gutierrez to NCAA DII Minot State

Hartnell College sophomore Juan Gutierrez III will return to the NCAA level of competition this fall after signing his National Letter of Intent to attend Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota. Juan attended San Jose State and competed for one year for the Spartans before enrolling at Hartnell College. Juan was the third Panther finisher at this year's CCCAA State Cross Country Championship placing 57th (21:52) in his first community college championship. He was 10th overall at the Modesto Pirate Invitational, 22nd at the Santa Ana Brubuker Invitational, and 45th at the Norcal Preview Meet at Toro Park. This spring, his track season was cut short but was heading in the right direction. He was the overall winner of the 1500 meters at the Wildcat cup in 4:07.25 and in the 800 meters (2:00.16). A former San Benito High School standout, he will become the third Hartnell College to attend the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference school joining current team members Nick Merillana and Nina Arias. Juan will major in communications at Minot State.