Kosgei, Badaru grab first-place finishes for cross country teams

by John Stewart, staff writer

Two members of the South Plains College cross country teams posted first-place finishes at a meet held on Sept. 290 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

SPC's Lillian Badaru placed first in the women's 5,000-meter race, while John Kosgei won the men's 8,000-meter race.

Kosgei placed first with a time of 23:42. He was joined by teammates Fred Samoei, who finishing ninth(24:25), Josphat Melly, who finished 38th(26:03), Javier Perez, who finished 65th(27:06), T.K. Revis, who finished 73rd(27:31), Mike Hernandez, who finished 84th(27:50), Jorge Castillo, who finished 88th(28:13), Chris Salazar, who finished 125th, and Mike Rodriguez, who finished 146th with a time of 29:15.

The Texans finished fifth overall with 186 points. Finishing first ahead of South Plains was Oklahoma State with 69 points, Abilene Christian was second with 69, Arkansas was third with 73 and Tulsa was fourth with 87.

Badaru placed first in the women's race with a time of 17:15. SPC's Florence Jepchirchi finished fifth(18:11), Gladys Chumba was 11th(18:28), Crystal Dickinson was 43rd(19:55), Meagan Willingham was 97th(20:51), Melinda Burrola was 106th(21:15), Jessica Kirchner was 110th(21:38) and Megan Erickson was 145th with a time of 23:01.

The Lady Texans finished third overall with 157 points. Missouri State was first with 58 points, while Tulsa University was second with 75.

The South Plains cross country teams will not be back in action until October 13, when they host the SPC/Subway Invitational in Levelland.