South Plains College’s Moses Mpanga and Lydia Kimeli provided the spark for the Texans and Lady Texans cross country teams at the 2004 NJCAA Cross Country Championships that were recently held in El Paso.

Mpanga, a freshman from Kampala, Uganda, ran the course in 24:51.40 to place third overall, while sophomore Stephen Lemiso finished ninth with a time of 25:24.80. Also placing for the Texans were freshman Micha Sharman, who covered the course in 28:03.60 and finished 80th. Fellow freshmen Calvin Day, Greg Jackson and Cesar Bueno all finished the course 104th, 113th and 139th, respectively, and helped the Texans secure a ninth place finish in the meet after they entered the championship unranked.

For the Lady Texans, their chance to compete in the team competition was ended when top runner, freshman Valentine Chebougt, re-aggravated an injury she had suffered earlier in the race while she was about 800 meters away from finishing the course. However, the other Lady Texans who competed in the competition were able to finish with strong times. Kimeli a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya traversed the course in 19:03.40 and earned a sixth-place finish.

Fellow Lady Texan Amy Garcia was able to cover the course with a time of 20:34.80, and come in in 46th place while Ruby Crox finished with a time of 20:34.80 and right behind her at 47th, while freshman Heather Waygood came in 97th with a time of 21:35.10.