Texans Win NJCAA Half-Marathon
The Texans dominated the event by placing all three scoring runners in the top six, led by Tallam Kipruto's third place finish. Kipruto completed the half-marathon course (13.1 miles) in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 20.0 seconds. The next scoring Texan was Mitchell Driver who finished fifth overall in a time of 1:12.44, followed by Anthony Pequeno in sixth with a time of 1:13.04. All three scorers for South Plains earned All-American honors, leading the Texans to an 11 point victory over Iowa Central. Also running for SPC, Javier Perez (1:17.04) crossed the line in 25th place, and Blake Rothbard (1:20.00) finished 41st overall.
The Lady Texan distance runners also had a strong national showing, as they finished third in the team standings.
Gladys Chumba earned another All-American certificate by placing sixth and finishing with a time of 1:29.14. Lorianne Pattee was the second Lady Texan crossing the line, finishing 18th overall in a time of 1:35.58, and Meagan Willingham was not far behind finishing 20th in 1:36.29. Shayla Contreras (1:40.04) was South Plains' fourth competitor finishing 28th.
The South Plains distance runners will now get a break before returning to indoor track and field action in January.
