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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
SEC Championships
Kirui Wins SEC Cross Country Championship In Oxford
10/31/2009 | Track and Field
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss junior Barnabas Kirui won his second SEC cross country championship of his career on Saturday by taking the conference crown with a time of 24:24.75 Saturday morning at the Ole Miss Golf Course.
Kirui is the only athlete in school history to be a two-time SEC Cross Country champion. In addition, he is one of only two athletes ever at Ole Miss to win the title. Pablo Sierra, who was in attendance Saturday, won the first individual title in school history in 1992.
"It was so exciting to be in front of the home crowd," Kirui said. "To win when we are hosting is just the most important thing, especially after two years away from running."
Kirui helped the Rebel men's team finish in ninth place with a total of 249 points on his way to being named to the All-SEC first team. Alabama won the event with a total of 56 points and had two runners place in the top-10.
Senior Gabriel Ngwiri turned in a 29th place finish for the Rebels and crossed the finish line following his time of 26:00.04. Senior Jordan Michael took 90th place and posted a time of 29:57.63, while junior Alejandro Quintana was next with his time of 30:38.25.
Sophomore Erik Solberg raced to a 92nd place finish and recorded a time of 30:58.38, and Jack Hammond rounded out the Rebel runners with his mark of 31:37.38 on his way to a 93rd place finish.
On the women's side, Rebecca Lowe won the individual title with a time of 20:57.35 to help Florida claim the team title. In fact, the Gators had five runners who finished in the top-10 of the race.
Sophomore Logan Waites led the way for the Ole Miss women's team and earned a 45th place finish with her time of 23:00.92. Freshman Anne Threlkeld, a native of Oxford, finished second for the Rebels and 77th overall with her time of 24:19.46.
Julie Little was next for Ole Miss and posted a time of 24:32.70 on her way to a 79th place finish. Junior Allison Kneip took 88th overall with a time of 24:57.86, while Anna Adams recorded a time of 26:04.99. Ella Gentry finished with a time of 27:33.15, and sophomore Jamie McCulloch rounded out the women's team runners after racing to a time of 29:01.06.
Ole Miss returns to action Nov. 14 when the Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take part in the NCAA South Regional.
