Texans Finish Second at NJCAA Cross Country Championships

November 8, 2008

Spartanburg, SC - South Plains College Cross Country ended the season successfully at the NJCAA National Championships. The men competed with a full team and finished in second place in the team standings. The Texans scored 109 points, which was only 12 points from the team title.

The Texans were led by freshmanTallam Kipruto, who finished 9th overall, and completed the 8,000 meter course (5 miles) in 24:46. Fred Samoei (24:56) crossed the line in 13th place, Mitchell Driver (25:45) was 23rd overall, Javier Perez (26:11) was 31st, and Anthony Pequeno (26:11) rounded out the team scoring for the Texans, finishing in 33rd place. All five scoring runners for the Texans earned All-American honors and everyone except Samoei ran a seasonal best. Also competing for SPC, Derek Brest (27:01) finished 57th overall, and Robert Castanon (27:12) came across in 65th. There were 253 men who started the race.

Representing the Lady Texans were sophomores Gladys Chumba and Meagan Willingham. Chumba completed the 5,000 meter course (3.1 miles) in a personal best time of 18:38. Willingham also had a personal best, completing the course in 19:43, good for 36th place. Both Chumba and Willingham earned All-American honors for their performances.