Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Cross Country seniors finish careers in style at NCAA Championships
By Quinten Boyd
Skiff Staff

Two cross country athletes ended their season Monday in a place they had visited before, the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Seniors Glady’s Keitany and Eliud Njubi both advanced after their strong performances in the Cross Country South Central Regional meet last week.

Keitany finished her career at TCU with a 31st place finish in the meet. She finished the 6,000 meter course in a time of 21:20. The winner of the race was Arizona’s Tara Chaplin, who finished in a time of 20:24.

“Glady’s ran her best race of the season,” head coach Derek Koonts said. “She put herself in great position throughout the whole race, and passed eight people in the last half-mile.”

Njubi started the 10 kilometer race in strong fashion, even passing the mile point faster than Koonts had expected. However, he suffered stomach cramps at the halfway point of the race and was unable to finish. The eventual winner was Eastern Michigan’s Boaz Chboiywo (28:47).

“He was running well before the cramps hit,” Koonts said. “He was disappointed, but he had a great season.”

Keitany ends the season and her career as the Conference USA individual champion and as a three-time NCAA qualifier. Njubi finishes this season with a conference and regional championship, while garnering numerous junior college awards during his stint at Dodge City Community College.

“I’m very pleased with their performance at the NCAAs,” Koonts said. “I’m glad to see Glady’s go out on such a high note, and Eliud still has a chance to compete.”

Koonts is pleased with the rest of his team as well, and how each member adjusted to a coaching change in the middle of the season.

“This season has been a success because of the strong team that we have at TCU,” Koonts said. “They all adjusted quickly from (former) Coach (Dan) Waters to me, and they had a great season. The future looks bright here. We just have to wait and see what happens.”

Quinten Boyd
q.m.boyd@student.tcu.edu