Nov. 23, 2009
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - A pair of Auburn cross country runners took home All-American honors and the Tigers finished 25th as a team at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships held this morning at LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Senior Felix Kiboiywo earned his second-straight All-American honor after placing 13th with a time of 29:50.1 on the 10K course, while junior Ben Cheruiyot placed 15th with a time of 29:51.4 to earn the first All-American honor of his career.
"Felix capped off a tremendous cross country career with his highest place ever with a 15th-place finish," said head coach Mark Carroll of his three-time NCAA South Region Champion. "He was committed to the race and was in the lead pack the entire day. Ben Cheruiyot got a feeling on what it is like to run with the top runners in the country. The experience he earned was great and will only help him in his years to come," Carroll continued.
Auburn's third finisher in the race was senior Jean-Pierre Weerts, who continued his renaissance this season with a 116th-place finish (31:22) after placing 119th at last season's race. Another Tiger running in his final cross country race was fellow senior Scott Novack, who placed 152nd with a time of 31:47. Auburn's final scorer was sophomore Jeff Sanders, who placed 207th with a time of 33:54 in his first NCAA Championship. Also in action for Auburn was sophomore Charles Mitchell who clocked a 37:10 to place 212th.
Liberty's Sam Chelanga, who placed second at last season's race, captured the individual title with a course-record time of 28:41.3. A pair of SEC athletes finished in the top 10, as SEC Champion Barnabus Kiriu of Ole Miss placed fourth with a time of 29:24.1 and Arkansas' Dorian Ulrey placed sixth with a time of 29:33.1.
Oklahoma State captured the overall team title with 127 points, followed by Oregon (143) and Alabama (173). Auburn came in 25th with 504 points, narrowly edging fellow SEC member Arkansas, which placed 26th with 535 points.
Auburn closes out the 2009 season having been ranked nationally for the majority of the season, something Carroll says is a huge accomplishment.
"All-in-all it was a great result at the NCAA Championships and a good year with us being ranked for almost the entire season," said Carroll of his first season in Auburn. "Overall, we're very pleased with our efforts this season and look forward to next year."