Thursday, November 15, 2001

Standing on top
Two seniors run toward NCAA Championships
By Bill Morrison
Skiff Staff

Gladys Keitany knew she had to do well last week.

She had to qualify for the NCAA Championships. She didn’t want the South Central Regional Championships to be her last race.

David Dunai/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Senior Gladys Keitany qualified to go to the NCAA Championships, held at Furman University Monday. It is the third time in Keitany’s career she has qualified.

Keitany took third place and qualified for nationals, but barely.

“It was a very close race, five seconds slower and I probable would not have made it,” Keitany said.

Seniors Eluid Njubi and Keitany qualified to go to the NCAA Championships at last Saturday’s South Central Regional Championships in College Station on the Texas A&M campus. Keitany and Njubi will go to the NCAA Championships held in South Carolina at Furman University Monday.

Cross country coach Derek Koonts said Keitany and Njubi have been team leaders for the whole year.

“Those two have been running good all year, and it gave the (team) something to cheer for,” Koonts said.

Keitany, a fourth year senior, will be going to national meet for the third time. She has qualified every year except her sophomore year.

Keitany has won four events this year, including the Conference USA Cross Country Championships. This was her second straight conference championship. Last year she won the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships.

Led by Keitany, the women’s team took fifth place in Saturday’s meet. Njubi successfully defended his title as regional champion Saturday, finishing first in the meet for the second year in a row.

David Dunai/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Senior Eliud Njubi to go to the NCAA Championships at last Saturday’s South Central Regional Championships in College Station. The NCAA Championships are held in South Carolina at Furman University Monday.

“I knew I was going to win,” Njubi said.

It was the fifth title that Njubi has won this year, bringing his win total to nine events in two seasons of competition at TCU.

Last year, Njubi finished 28th at nationals and was an All-American.

“Almost all conference champions are good,” he said. “We expect to have more competition than we had last year.”

This will be the final race Njubi will run for TCU. He said that he wants to get as much out of the race as he can.

“I think I am stronger,” Njubi said. “I am more confident with Division I racing and I am more experienced. I am going to run the best that I can. I know it is going to be hard, but whoever takes the most pain wins.”

Last year Keitany placed 40th at nationals.

“(But) you never can predict what you are going to do, I am just going to try my best,” Keitany said. “I am going to take it as any other race. I am not going to stress just because it is nationals, I am just going to run my best.”

Bill Morrison
w.c.morrison@student.tcu.edu