PRE-NATIONALS
MEN'S RESULTS I WOMEN'S RESULTS

WILMINGTON FALL CLASSIC
MEN'S RESULTS I WOMEN'S RESULTS

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Freshman Soufiane Bouchikhi finished ninth out of 241 of the best distance runners in the country to lead the Eastern Kentucky University men’s cross country team to a 14th place finish in the highly-competitive White Race at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday afternoon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

Bouchikhi covered the tough 8K course in a time of 23:54.5, edging Western Kentucky’s Shadrack Kipchirchir by a nose at the finish line.

Sophomore Victor Kemboi placed 39th with a time of 24:26.8 and senior Evans Kiptoo finished 45th with a time of 24:32.1. However, there was, again, a significant drop-off following the Colonels’ top three finishers as freshman Ole Hesselbjerg finished 139th with a time of 25:29.4 and sophomore Daniel Jones placed 187th with a time of 26:02.7 to round out EKU’s top five runners.

Oklahoma won the Blue Race, but the EKU men fared well in a field of 36 of some of the top teams in the country. The Colonels defeated such regionally-ranked teams as Providence (No. 3 in the Northeast), Cal Poly (No. 12 in the West), Harvard (No. 9 in the Northeast), Air Force (No. 7 in the Mountain), Arizona State (No. 6 in the West), Butler (No. 11 in the Great Lakes), host Indiana State (No. 7 in the Great Lakes), Washington State (No. 7 in the West), Kansas (No. 10 in the Midwest), Tennessee (No. 5 in the South) and many others, including in-state rival Western Kentucky and OVC foe Morehead State.

The EKU women’s team did not register a team score because only four runners from the squad finished. Two Colonels, sophomores Picoty Leitich and Jackline Barkechir, dropped out of the race due to injury. However, senior Kat Pagano led the women’s team, finishing 104th in the Blue Race and covering the 6K course in a time of 21:41.2. Junior Danielle Mason was 227th with a time of 23:03.1, freshman Hannah Miller was 237th with a time of 23:17.5 and senior Ashli Joseph was 251st with a time of 23:47.0 to round out the women’s four finishers.

Colonels Compete at Wilmington College Cross Country Fall Classic

Other members of the EKU cross country teams competed at the Wilmington Fall Classic this weekend in Wilmington, Ohio. The Colonel men finished 13th out of 28 teams at that meet while the Colonel women only registered three competitors at the meet.

Senior David Mutuse finished fifth out of 329 runners to lead the men’s team, covering the 8K course in a time of 25:17.28. Freshman Sean Vandermosten finished 57th in 26:58.20, freshman Peter Migun finished 73rd in 27:14.69, freshman Cole Nieporte finished 120th in 28”09.10 and sophomore Anthony Eason finished 123rd in 28:10.53 to round out the Colonels’ top five.

On the women’s side, freshman Natalie Field placed 24th out of 319 runners with a 5K time of 19:30.41, freshman Laura Dollins finished 37th in 19:51. 30 and senior Abigail Love finished 132nd in 21:44.04.

The cross country Colonels will have next weekend off before competing for their fifth straight OVC titles on Oct. 30 in Cookeville, Tenn.