Trailblazer Cross Country close out season with seventh-place finish in Half-Marathon

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Six members of the Vincennes University men’s Cross Country team competed Tuesday morning in the 2022 NJCAA Men’s Half Marathon Championships at Miller’s Landing Road in Tallahassee.

Vincennes as a team finished seventh out of 21 teams competing in the 13.1 mile race, more than double the normal cross country distance of eight kilometers, which is just under five miles.

The Blazers were led by very strong showings from sophomores Mathew Keitany (Kenya) and Ian Boit (Kimilili, Kenya).

Keitany paced the VU runners to finish 31st overall out of 131 runners, with a final time of 1:14:10, while Boit placed 36th at 1:15:34.

Sophomores Reed Lawless (Kouts, Ind.) and Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) were the next across the line with Lawless placing 43rd at 1:17:10 and Momodu finishing 44th at 1:17:13.

Freshmen Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) and Elijah McCartney (Darlington, Ind.) rounded out the VU runners Tuesday. Stanford placed 56th with a time of 1:18:20 and McCartney ended at 66th at 1:19:54.

“We finished seventh out of 21 teams, so it was a good day for us,” VU Assistant Cross Country Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “They went out on the more conservative side due to the humidity and hilly course. It allowed them to move up in the race and finish strong enough to get us a top-10 finish.”

“They ran a little better than I expected,” Steigenga added. “It’s hard to know how exactly they will run for the 13.1 mile distance when the normal 8k cross country distance is the furthest they had run before. They all bounced back nicely after not being satisfied with their races on Saturday, which were still pretty good.”

“Coming into this race they were very focused and determined, which allowed them to race so well,” Steigenga said. “It was a great way to end the fall season.”

Many of the Vincennes University runners will now turn their attentions to the 2023 Indoor Track and Field season coming up in January.

RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS

VINCENNES (7) – 97 points

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Mathew Keitany (31) = 1:14:10

Ian Boit (36) – 1:15:34

Reed Lawless (43) – 1:17:10

Ernest Momodu (44) – 1:17:13

Isaac Stanford (56) – 1:18:20

Elijah McCartney (66) – 1:19:54

 

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