TCU
NCAA South Central Regional Championships
Kigen Qualifies for NCAA Championships on Saturday
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
Nov. 15, 2008
WACO, Texas - Junior Festus Kigen placed fourth overall on Saturday morning to lead TCU at the 2008 NCAA South Central Regional."Festus ran really well today, especially considering the weather environment he was running in," said distance coach Shawn Winget. "I am extremely proud of him to finish in the top-5. He responded very well today and did a great job."
Kigen finished the men's 10k race with a time of 30:35.0 to record his highest regional finish of his career and TCU's highest men's finish since 2005. By finishing fourth overall, the Eldoret, Kenya, native, qualified for the NCAA meet, which will be held on Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.
On the women's side, Dani Selner crossed the finish line with a seasonal-best time of 22:02.9 at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. Selner, a junior from Houston, posted a 30th-place finish, while freshman Kelly Dawson followed in 35th-place overall with a seasonal-best and career-best time of 22:08.1.
Sophomore Tanja Ivandic placed 44th overall at the regional meet out of 120 competitors, while Lisa Baity and Shannon Andrew clocked a 71st and 75th-place finish overall, respectively. Finally, Amber Carlisle rounded out the TCU runners by recording a 79th-place showing.
"On the women's side, we responded very well and bounced back from our showing at the Mountain West Confernece Championships. Overall, we finished pretty much where we expected and I am very proud of them that they had some success," said Winget. "All-in-all, it was a very successful day today. We had some success as a team and now the kids know what it is like to compete at this level. We return everybody for next year and hopefully today will help us be successful in the future."
Overall, the TCU women, who were ranked No. 11 in the region coming into this weekend, finished in eighth-place with 239 points. Arkansas claimed the team-title on Saturday with 51 points, while Baylor placed second overall as a team. On the men's side, Texas A&M earned the team-title with 39 points.
Individually, Rice's Nicole Mericle claimed the regional crown by clocking a time of 20:34.7, while on the men' side, Texas A&M's Shadrack Songok won the 10K race with a time of 29:52.1.
Kigen will represent TCU at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
Players Mentioned
