Former South Plains College Lady Texans Sally Kipyego and Lillian Badaru have led the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to their most successful season in school history in 2008. The Lady Raiders won the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival, an event that Kipyego and Badaru finished in first and second places. They then led Texas Tech to its first ever Big 12 cross country championship on November 1, again sweeping the top two places. Two weeks later at the Mountain region championship in Fort Collins, Colorado, Kipyego and Badaru dominated the field once again, which equated to another Texas Tech Championship. At the NCAA Championships, in Terre Haute, Indiana, Kipyego and Badaru did not sweep the top two spots, but both earned all-american honors and led ninth ranked Texas Tech to a seventh place finish. Kipyego dominated the event for the third straight year to become the first athlete to win three NCAA Cross Country Championships. Badaru finished the event 18th overall.
For Sally Kipyego, who has now won eight individual NCAA championships in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, you might think this would just be another victory. However, in an interview by Flotrack, she said just the opposite, praising second place finisher Susan Kuijken of Florida State, "It was a very hard race, but it was nice having Susan push me. She made me run hard and she really brought out the best in me."
Kipyego and Badaru should receive a little time off before again lacing up the spikes for the Lady Raiders in January when they begin the indoor season. The indoor season will be Kipyego's last as a collegian, but in the Flotrack interview she states, "I am sad that this journey is ending, but I am ready for the next phase of my life. I will definitely be running professionally."
