TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Auburn junior Joyce Kimeli ran her second consecutive outstanding race of the 2019 cross country season, claiming second at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational Blue Race, Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Eldoret, Kenya native crossed the 6k course in 20:09.4, finishing behind BYU's Erica Birk. Kimeli's performance was impressive, considering the 259-competitor field featured 10 nationally ranked teams. The challenging course will host the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in five weeks on November 23.
"Joyce did phenomenally well," Auburn cross country coach David Barnett said. "She's been a national caliber runner already so we wanted to give her an opportunity to run against some of the best in the country. It was the first time she's run a full 6,000-meter course, she had a great race against very good competition."
Kimeli race strategy, to get off to a quick start, worked well as she positioned herself with the lead pack a mile into the race.
"The course is very challenging with lots of twists and turns," Barnett said. "The main thing for her was to go out and put herself in the front pack from the get go and she did that. She's been working hard and been prepared and since the Notre Dame meet went so well, it was a big confidence boost for her."
The 2019 season has been short and very successful for Kimeli. She made her season debut two weeks prior at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational where she ran an outstanding race en route to a third-place finish over 5k, defeating several top NCAA finishers from 2018.
"You have to make the most of your opportunities. She has a tendency to put herself up in the mix and grind for it. She embraced it and knows when she puts in hard work the good results come," Barnett said.
Kimeli and Auburn's full squad will return to action Friday, November 1 at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Lexington, Ky.