Athletics Department - News

Kirwa Places 1st in NCAA Cross Country Division II South Regional Championship

November 3, 2007

Emmanuel Kirwa, a freshman from Kapsabet, Kenya not only placed first in the NCAA Division II South Regional Championship, but also became the first runner in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic (SIAC) history to win the NCAA South Regional Championship.  

Head Coach Frank Hyland, said, "This is a great accomplishment for Kirwa and BC Cross Country. He has worked hard all year and he deserves the reward, however, we still have more to accomplish. NATIONALS!"

Kirwa ran a 10K course (6 miles) recording a time of 31:53.9. While his 1^st place finish earned him a spot on the 1^st Team All-Region Team, he also qualified to compete at the NCAA Division II National

Championship in Joplin, Mo. on November 17th. He will compete against runners from schools such as Florida Southern College, Alabama-Huntsville, and the University of Tampa. Both UAH and Tampa finished with a total of 103 points. Harding University was just outside of the qualifiers in fourth place with 106 points.

Four runners earned individual qualifying spots, finishing in the top five in the race. Emmanuel Kirwa of Benedict was the overall winner with a time of 31:53.9. James Cheruiyot of Harding was second at 31:58.4, while Abraham Kiprotich (Morehouse) was third at 32:16.8 and Nao Asano (West Georgia) made the field finishing fifth at 32:32.

Oneil Williams of Benedict College also finished in the top 15 and earning a spot on the All-Region Team. Titus Rotich finished 19^th and Charles Chirchir finished 58^th, both are runners from Benedict College.

ALL-REGION TEAM

1    31:53.9            Emmanuel Kirwa              FR          Benedict                   SIAC 1
2    31:58.4            James Cheruiyot                  JR           Harding
3    32:16.8            Abraham Kiprotich              SO          Morehouse                SIAC 2
4    32:23.2            Luke Beevor                       SR           Florida Southern
5    32:32.0            Nao Asano                          JR           West Georgia
6    32:37.3            Stephen Hill                         JR           Christian Bros.
7    32:42.2            Brandon York                     SR           Alabama-Huntsville
8    32:54.9            Tony Nicolosi                      SO          Tampa
9    33:09.4            Wojciech Kopec                 FR           Harding
10  33:10.8            Brian Gowin                        SR           West Florida
11  33:11.9            Mark Temple                      SO          Alabama-Huntsville
12  33:15.8            William Koeppel                  SR          Florida Southern
13  33:17.3            Ben Martucci                       FR          Florida Southern
14  33:22.0            David Forry                         SR          Tampa
15  33:32.2           Oneil Williams                   JR          Benedict                   SIAC 3

For more, see Cross Country.

Source: BC Sports Information

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