TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Ole Miss freshman Barnabas Kirui closed out his 2006 cross country season with a 71st place finish at the NCAA Championships on Monday. The 71st place finish was the highest for an Ole Miss runner since Bernard Kuria finished 67th in 1997.
“It just wasn’t Barnabas’ day,” said Ole Miss head coach Joe Walker. “The conditions were muddy and his back went out on him during the race. I am proud of what he was able to accomplish this season. He is a rookie at all this and will learn from the experience.”
Kirui finished with a time of 32:14.3. The event, hosted by Indiana State University, featured 386 runners from all over the country. Josh Rohatinsky, of BYU, won the competition with a time of 30:44.9.
Kirui, a native of Kenya, had possibly the most successful individual season in Ole Miss cross country history. Kirui, the SEC cross country champion, was named the SEC Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year, as well as the NCAA South Region Athlete of the Year. He recorded three victories on the year, winning the Arkansas State Invitational, Auburn Invitational and SEC Championships. He also finished runner-up at the Alabama Relays. His lowest collegiate finish of the season was an eighth place finish at the Chile Pepper Invitational.
