Cross Country Big12Sports.com

Kipyego Wins Third Straight NCAA Cross Country Title

Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego became the first runner in NCAA Division I history to win three-consecutive cross country titles, pacing to a top finish at the 2008 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The Big 12 had six top 25 men’s and women’s finishers, with the Tech women and Oklahoma State men placing in the top 10.

Kipyego finished the 6K race in 19:29, bettering her time from last season (19:30.9) and finishing more than six seconds ahead of the next competitor. This is her eighth individual national championship to date, with the potential to become the all-time winningest runner in NCAA history if she competes during the 2008 indoor track and field season. The senior will go down in history as having never lost a race in her cross country career.

The Tech women’s team finished in seventh place with 272 points, followed by Baylor (19th) and Nebraska (25th) on the women’s side. The Cowboys led the conference with an eighth place finish, which did not include the reigning Big 12 Champion German Fernandez who was unable to finish the race due to injury. Colorado finished 12th among the men’s field, followed by Iowa State (17th) and Texas A&M (30th).

Four men’s runners placed in the top 25 in the 10K event. The league’s top men’s finisher was John Kosgei (OSU) who took seventh, followed by CU’s Jordan Kyle (12th), OSU’s Ryan Vail (18st) and TAMU’s Shadrack Songok (19th). In addition to Kipyego, Tech’s Lillian Badaru rounded out the top 25 among the women finishing 18th. The six Big 12 top 25 finishers mentioned, along with Erin Bedell (Baylor) and Guor Marial (Iowa State), all received USTFCCCA Cross Country All-America honors for their performance.