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TERRE HAUTE, In. – UTEP senior Linda Cheruiyot clocked in a time of 21:42.4 in the women’s 6K, while UTEP freshman Titus Cheruiyot registered a 32:21.3 in the men’s 10K at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country National Championships at LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course Saturday morning.

Linda Cheruiyot finished 157^th out of over 250 competing student-athletes. New Mexico’s Weini Kelati (19:47.5) won the race.

Titus Cheruiyot placed 152^nd out of over 250 competitors. Iowa State’s Edwin Kurgat (30:32.7) crossed the finished line first on the men’s side.

BYU claimed the men’s team title (109 points), while Northern Arizona (163), Colorado (164), Iowa State (211) and Tulsa (243) rounded out the top five. Conference USA’s Middle Tennessee placed 31^st.

On the women’s side, Arkansas (96 points) won the women’s team championship, while BYU (102), Stanford (123), New Mexico (168) and NC State (190) rounded out the top five finishers.

Linda completed her senior season in cross country competition, as she opened the campaign with a second-place finish in the 5K at the Lobo Invitational with a time of 18:15.81.

Titus, in his first season at UTEP, opened his successful collegiate career with a first-place finish at the Lobo Invitational in the 5K with a time of 15:17.88 in Albuquerque, N.M. Titus claimed his second victory at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational in a 5-mile event (24:13.01).

He was named the C-USA XC Male Athlete of the Week on Oct. 8 following his performance in South Bend, Ind.

UTEP senior Linda Cheruiyot will compete at her second consecutive NCAA Championship while Titus Cheruiyot will conclude his freshman campaign with a trip to Terre Haute, Indiana, as the pair of Miners will race at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country National Championships Saturday.

Linda advanced to nationals after finishing as the top Miner and 11^th overall in the women’s 6K, clocking a time of 20:17.1 at the highly-competitive NCAA Mountain Region Championships last weekend.

The women’s 6K will begin at 9:15 a.m. MT, while the men’s 10K will start at 10:15 a.m.

Titus placed 19^th in the men’s 10K (31:04.0) at the Mountain Regionals to advance to his first national championship weekend.

Live Results by Record PrimeTime Timing are available HERE.

SALT LAKE CITY – UTEP senior Linda Cheruiyot and UTEP freshman Titus Cheruiyot advanced to the NCAA Championships after their performances at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships Friday afternoon at Rose Park Golf Course.

“Linda and Titus are in [the nationals], but we are still waiting for Winny Koech as we’ll find out her situation by tomorrow,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “Titus performed with a lot of heart today. He fell twice in the race, but he got right back up and fought hard to get in. He showed a fighting spirit of a real champion.”

Linda finished as the top Miner and 11^th overall in the women’s 5K, clocking in a time of 20:17.1, while Titus placed 19^th overall, registering a time of 31:04.0 in the men’s 10K.

Koech, who has an outside shot to advance to nationals, placed in 16^th place (20:25.1). Carolyne Chepkosgei (42^nd, 21:08.9), Joan Kimaiyo (117^th, 23:00.4) and Andrea Lucero (127^th, 24:33.9) rounded out the UTEP competitors.

Koech will find out her fate on the NCAA Selection show on NCAA.com at 3 p.m. MT.

Overall, the UTEP women finished in 11^th out of 19 programs. BYU claimed the team championship, while New Mexico placed second.

“I’m really excited and happy with the women. They performed well today,” Ereng said. “All-in-all, I’m happy with the performance as I expected them to run well.”

A pair of runners from New Mexico finished as the top two performers, as Weini Kelati won the individual title (18:58.7) and her teammate Ednah Kurgat finished in second place.

On the men’s side, Rodgers Korir (31:40.2) placed 41^st and Boaz Ronoh (32:43.0) finished 71^st. Cornelius Kapel (94^th, 33:25.7), Kenneth Talavera (122^nd, 35:21.7), Kayn Quinones (128^th, 36:23.7) and Michael Sims (129^th, 36:27.5) rounded out the UTEP men’s runners.

The Miner men placed 13^th.

No.1-ranked Northern Arizona won the team event, while Gerodie Beamish of NAU won the individual title with a time of 30:25.6. Luis Grijalva (30:27.8) and Brodey Hasty (30:30.8) also of NAU, finished second and third, respectively.

Up next, the NCAA National Championships will be Novemebr 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana

The UTEP Cross Country team will hit the road to Salt Lake City, Utah, to compete at the 2019 NCAA Mountain Region Championships Friday, November 15 hosted by The University of Utah.

“The Mountain Region is one of the most competitive and toughest regions in the country,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “Most regions will bring two teams to the NCAA National Championships [Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, In.], but the Mountain Region will bring like six men’s teams and about five women’s teams. It’s a very intense competition. The top distance runners come from that region, I believe because they’re residents in the mountains and the high altitude helps.”

The men’s 10K race will begin at noon MT. Making the trip for the men’s squad is Cory Calvani, Titus Cheruiyot, Cornelius Kapel, Rodgers Korir, Kayn Quinones, Boaz Ronoh, Michael Sims and Kenneth Talavera.

The women’s 6K will set off at 11 a.m. MT. Competing for the women are Carolyne Chepkosgei, Linda Cheruiyot, Karoline Daland, Joan Kimaiyo, Winny Koech, Andrea Lucero and Jacquilyn Orozco.

The women’s field could have up to 20 teams competing for the NCAA regional title. At last year’s NCAA Mountain Regional, New Mexico won the event, while Colorado finished in second place. BYU, Southern Utah, and Air Force rounded out the top five teams from a year ago.

To get a look at the regional rankings so far in 2019, click here.

The men’s region also contains 18 squads that may travel to Salt Lake City for this year’s regional. Northern Arizona won the 2018 NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Provo last season to edge out the meet hosts, BYU, who finished in second. Colorado, Colorado State, and Southern Utah finished as the other top-five teams in the event.

To see where the men’s teams rank in the Mountain Region in 2019, click here.

The Miners recently competed at the Conference USA Championships in Bowling Green, Ky., on Nov. 2. Koech, who placed in second place with a time of 17:03.76 in the 5K, was named the Outstanding Senior of the event. On the other side, Cheruiyot, who registered a third-place finish in the 8K (23:58.64) earned the Freshman of the Meet honor.

Korir (24:06.65) finished in sixth place, while the women’s team had a trio of top 10 finishers – Cheruiyot (17:08.60) placed fourth, while Chepkosgei (17:20.77) finished in seventh place.

Links: MEET CENTRAL | FLO-TRACK STREAM | RESULTS

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Outstanding Senior recipient Winny Koech finished in second place, clocking a time of 17:03.76 in the 5K, and Freshman of the Meet Titus Cheruiyot registered a close third-place finish (23:58.64) in the 8K at the Conference USA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning.

Overall, the women finished in third place (84 points) behind Southern Miss (74) and champions Middle Tennessee (42).

“Every race [the women] run is an experience. They learn from it and get stronger,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “I’m pleased very much by the women’s performance. I’m really, really pleased because every girl that ran, ran their best of the year. That was incredible. Each one of them they competed very well.”

The men’s squad placed fourth (93 points) as Middle Tennessee claimed the title (31). Charlotte (48) and Rice (89) finished in second and third place, respectively.

Cheruiyot ran a solid race and wasn’t far behind the first and second place winners from MT. He finished only 0:06.7 behind individual champion senior Jacob Choge (23:52.11) and Kigen Chemadi (23:56.35).

Sophomore Rodgers Korir placed sixth (24:06.65), sophomore Boaz Ronoh (24:58.04) finished 19^th, junior Cornelius Kapel (25:37.72) and freshman Kayn Quinones (25:40.58) finished 32^nd and 33^rd, respectively, freshman Kenneth Talavera (25:43.28) placed 36^th. Sophomore Michael Sims (27:31.28) and freshman Cory Calvani (27:48.72) rounded out the UTEP men’s field.

Despite only having two runners in the top 10, the future looks bright for the men’s team.

“The men’s team is young,” Ereng said. “We will be strong next year. But we want to compete, trying is not good enough. We respect the other teams, but we want to win next year. I assure you, we’ll be there next year.”

On the women’s side, senior Linda Cheruiyot (17:08.60) finished fourth, junior Carolyne Chepkosgei (17:20.77) placed seventh, sophomore Karoline Daland (17:20.77) registered a 14^th-place finish. Freshman Joan Kimaiyo (19:12.79), junior Andrea Lucero (19:31.94) and freshman Jacquilyn Orozco (20:40.97) rounded out the UTEP competitors.

MT’s Eusila Chepkemei (16:55.88) won the women’s individual title, finishing 0:08.8 in front of Koech.

Up next, the Miners will compete at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 15. The NCAA Championships is Nov. 23 in Terra Haute, Indiana.

UTEP women’s cross country will defend its Conference USA Championship Saturday, November 2 in chilly Bowling Green, Ky. (WKU).

The women will compete in the 5K starting at 10 a.m. CT/9 a.m. MT, while the men’s squad will take the course in an 8K event at 9 a.m. CT/8 a.m. MT.

Running for the defending champs will be junior Carolyne Chepkosgei, senior Linda Cheruiyot (defending gold medal champion), sophomore Karoline Daland, freshman Joan Kimaiyo, senior Winny Koech (silver medal in 2018), junior Andrea Lucero and freshman Jacquilyn Orozco.

“I think our fifth runner has to step and really work hard for the women to win the championship again,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “I’m looking for that fifth position to go to Andrea Lucero. She’s a junior and has more experience than freshman Joan (Kimaiyo). The fifth position is the key.”

Chepkosgei placed fifth overall and was the third-best Miner to finish last season. This season, the junior distance runner finished in third place at the Lobo Invitational, clocking a time of 18:22.47 in the 5K. She, along with Cheruiyot, Koech and Karoline, are expected to finish as the top four Miners.

“This weekend we need to push hard like we did last season for us to retain our title,” Chepkosgei said. “We have trained really hard during the whole season to prepare for this weekend. Everybody is in good shape and we expect something great this weekend.”

Competing for the men are sophomore Cory Calvani, freshman Titus Cheruiyot, junior Cornelius Kapel, sophomore Rodgers Korir, freshman Kayn Quinones, sophomore Boaz Ronoh, sophomore Michael Sims and freshman Kenneth Talavera.

“The men have been very competitive this season,” Ereng said. “Right now, we have two athletes running very well but the other three have to finish close to them. Middle Tennessee is a very good team and that’s where the competition is going to come from.

UTEP is looking for its first C-USA championship since the 2016 season when the Miners completed back-to-back titles.

Korir, a sophomore, opened the season with a second-place finish at the Lobo Invitational in the 5K, while crossing the finish line first in the 6.4m at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial. Last season at the C-USA Championships, Korir finished in fifth place and was the second Miner to cross the finish line. The men finished in fourth place with two runners in the top five as Ronoh took second place.

“Winning a conference championship has been my dream of mine and the team,” Korir said. “I’ve been training and running hard so I can help the team win conference. I’m happy so far with my season. Last year, I didn’t do so well, but I feel more comfortable this year.”

Cheruiyot has competed well for the men’s team, finishing in first place during two events in his first season at UTEP. He opened his collegiate career with a first-place finish at the Lobo Invitational, and another winning effort at the Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational.

An element the Miners will be challenged with is the cold weather this weekend. Saturday’s high will about 50 degrees. Last season, the C-USA Championships ran in sunny and warm Boca Raton, Florida.

“That’s how the competition is. When you want it badly, regardless if the weather is cold or whatever it is, you got to go for it,” Ereng said. “That’s the point of competing. That is one of the things I will speak [to the team] about during the final touches before they compete. When it rains, it rains on everybody. When it’s windy, it doesn’t blow on one person alone, it blows on everybody. That’s the nature of competition.”

To follow along with all the action, visit the 2019 C-USA XC Championships Central website.

TERRE HAUTE, In. – The UTEP Cross Country team completed the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational as the women’s team (227 points) finished fourth out of 26 programs in the women’s 6K white event.

The Miners were led by senior Winny Koech (20:50.3), who placed fourth out of 169 competing runners Saturday morning at LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

UTEP star freshman Titus Cheruiyot finished 13^th, clocking a time of 23:43.7 in the men’s 8K blue event.

“The women’s team ran well in the white section led by Winny Koech in the fourth position, Linda Cheruiyot in eighth and Carolyne Chepkosgei in 16^th. We managed to place three runners in top 20,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “Karoline Daland was fourth for the Miners in the 53rd position followed by Joan Kimaiyo 146 out of the 176 runners. Andrea Lucero came in sixth for the Miners in the 162 position while Jacquelyn Orozco came in seventh for the Miners in the 165 position.”

Rounding out the women’s side was Linda Cheruiyot (21:11.9) placing eighth, while Carolyne Chepkosgei (21:26.8) finished 16^th. San Francisco’s Aoibhe Richardson won the women’s white race. Arizona (121 points) won the overall women’s white race.

The men’s squad finished 31^st overall in the men’s blue race. BYU (81 points) won the overall men’s event, led by Conner Mantz (23:20.8), who won the individual title for the Cougars.

Up next,the Miners will compete at the Conference USA Championships in Bowling Green, Ky. (WKU) Nov. 2. The women’s team will defend its 2018 C-USA title

The UTEP Cross Country team will compete at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute Saturday, October 19.

The UTEP men will race in an 8K event (Blue Race), starting at 11:35 a.m. CT, while the women will compete in a 6K (White Race), starting at 11 a.m. CT.

The UTEP men’s squad will be composted of Cory Calvani, Titus Cheruiyot, Cornelius Kapel, Rodgers Korir, Kayn Quinones, Boaz Ronoh, Michael Sims and Kenneth Talavera.

On the women’s side, the competing Miners will be Carolyne Chepkosgei, Linda Cheruiyot, Karoline Daland, Joan Kimaiyo, Winny Koech, Andrea Lucero and Jacquilyn Orozco.

Saturday’s races will feature 57 men’s teams (602 athletes) and 64 women’s teams (659 athletes). Included in those numbers are nationally-ranked BYU (2^nd), Colorado (3^rd), Washington (4^th), Ole Miss (8^th), Oklahoma State (14^th), Indiana (15^th), Iona (21^st), Eastern Kentucky (25^th), Arkansas (27^th), Virginia Tech (29^th) and Florida State (30^th) on the men’s side and BYU (2^nd), Colorado (3^rd), Michigan (7^th), Washington (8^th), Boise State (11^th), Florida State (11^th), Ole Miss (17^th), Illinois (20^th), Boston College (26^th) and Oklahoma State (30^th) on the women’s side.

Results can be viewed via this link.  FloTrack will live at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Saturday and fans can view the stream here.

DALLAS – UTEP star freshman Titus Cheruiyot was named the Conference USA Cross Country Male Athlete of the Week as announced by the league office Tuesday.

Cheruiyot crossed the finish line first at the prestigious 64^th Annual Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 4.

Cheruiyot beat out 157 other runners, clocking a time of 24:13.01 in the Men’s Gold Division 5-mile race at Burke Golf Course in South Bend, In.

The UTEP men’s squad finished ninth out of 20 programs.

The Miners will return to action October 19 at the NCAA Pre Nationals in Terre Haute, In.

SOUTH BEND, In. – UTEP freshman Titus Cheruiyot won the second race of his young collegiate career, crossing the finish line first (24:13.01) at the 64^th Annual Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational Friday afternoon at Burke Golf Course.

Cheruiyot, who opened his collegiate career with a first-place finish at the Lobo Invitational Aug. 31, was no. 1 out of 158 competing runners at Friday’s event in South Bend.

Cheruiyot’s teammate Rodgers Korir placed third (24:16.74) as the UTEP men’s team finished ninth overall out of 20 competing programs in the 5-mile Men’s Gold Division.

The UTEP women’s squad finished eighth out of 25 schools in the 5,000-meter Women’s Golf Division, as Winny Koech led the charge for the Miners. Koech finished in second place (16:55.86) behind Clemson’s Logan Morris (16:49.48).

“I am very proud of both UTEP cross country men and women team’s efforts today as they competed among 25 teams in the 2019 edition of Notre Dame Joe Piane Invitational,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “The women’s team was led by senior Winny Koech as the ladies put three runners in top 10 in the Women’s Gold Race.”

Linda Cheruiyot (17:18.82) placed sixth and Carolyne Chepkosgei (17:20.58) finished seventh. Karoline Daland (18:16.08) finished with a personal-best time, while Joan Kimaiyo (20:07.86) and Jacquilyn Orozco (21:14.43) also competed for the Miners.

Ronoh (25:27.85) placed 61^st, third overall for the men, while Quinones (25:51.28), Kapel (26:11.78), Talavera (26:36.88), Sims (27:47.82) and Calvani (29:22.16) rounded out the men’s side.

“Inspired by their sisters’ performance, the men took the course and displayed a brilliant distance running,” Ereng added. “Freshman Titus Cheruiyot was the champion of the golden race followed by Rodgers Korir in third place. Boaz Ronoh lost a shoe and had to stop to put it on –  he finished third for the team. Freshman [Kayn] Quinones competed very well today by finishing fourth for the team, as [Cornelius] Kapel, [Kenneth]Talavera, [Michael] Sims and [Cory] Calvani came in that order.”

Up next, the Miners will return to the state of Indiana compete at the NCAA Pre Nationals in Terre Haute Oct. 19. Following that, the Conference USA Championships will be in Bowling Green, Ky., hosted by WKU Nov. 2.

The UTEP cross country squad will take the field at the 64^th Annual Joe Piane-Notre Dame Invitational Friday, Oct. 4 at the University of Norte Dame Burke Golf Course in South Bend, Indiana.

Friday’s event will the third for the Miners this season, who most recently captured the men’s and women’s titles at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial September 13.

The UTEP men’s team will compete in the Gold Race in a 5-mile competition.

The Miners will go against Akron, Auburn, Cal State Fullerton, Calvin, Clemson, Hilldale College, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, IUPUI, Kansas State, LSU, Massachusetts-Amherst, Miami (Ohio), Oakland, Fort Wayne, Stephen F. Austin, Utah Valley, Valparaiso, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Youngstown State.

The Men’s Gold Division race will start at 4 p.m. ET/2 p.m. MT. Racing for the men will be Cory Calvani, Titus Cheruiyot, Cornelius Kapel, Rodgers Korir, Kayn Quinones, Boaz Ronoh, Michael Sims and Kenneth Talavera.

The UTEP women will take part in the Gold Race in a 5,000-meter competition.

The Miners will compete against Akron, Belmont, Cal State Fullerton, Calvin, Central Michigan, Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, Hillsdale College, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, IUPUI, Kansas State, LSU, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska-Omaha, Fort Wayne, Southern Miss, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Valparaiso, Western Michigan, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wyoming and Youngstown State.

The Women’s Gold Division race will start at 3:15 p.m. ET/1:15 MT. Participating for the women will be Carolyne Chepkosgei, Linda Cheruiyot, Karoline Daland, Joan Kimaiyo, Winny Koech and Jacquilyn Orozco.

Live results will be available online, while the course map can be found here.

UTEP’s Winny Koech crossed the finish line first, registering a time of 16:40.53 as the senior led the cross country women to the team title at the 35th Lori Fitzgerald Memorial.

**After a correction in error, the UTEP men’s cross country team tallied 35 points to win the team title at last night’s event. Jesus Bruno, who finished seventh, was incorrectly attached to EPCC. His status was updated to an individual runner and EPCC’s points were corrected to 39.**

UTEP’s Winny Koech crossed the finish line first, registering a time of 16:40.53 as the senior led the cross country women to the team title.

On the men’s side, sophomore Rodgers Korir won the individual title, clocking in a time of 19:29.14 at Chamizal National Memorial Park Friday evening.

“The team competed very well today – both men and women,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “With this being our second meet, we’re still working on where we want to be. We still have a couple of more races to get ready for conference.”

The UTEP women claimed the overall team title in the 4.7KM with 35 points, while EPCC placed second (46 points). Junior Carolyne Chepkosgei finished fourth (17:04.85), senior Linda Cheruiyot (17:14.67) crossed the finish line in fifth and sophomore Karoline Daland placed seventh (17:27.59).

Freshmen Joan Kimaiyo (18^th – 19:41.78), Jacquilyn Orozco (23^rd – 20:41.36) and Valerie Gonzalez (25^th – 21:27.64) rounded out the field for UTEP.

The UTEP men placed second overall (38 points) behind EPCC (27 points) in the 6.4KM. Freshman Titus Cheruiyot finished third, clocking in a time of 19:47.13, while sophomore Boaz Ronoh (20:44.10) placed eighth. Freshman Kenneth Talavera (20:47.59) finished 10^th, and junior Cornelius Kapel (21:13.38) placed 16^th.

Freshman Kayn Quinones (17^th – 21:30.80), sophomore Michael Sims (20^th – 21:47.58), sophomore Cory Calvani (27^th – 22:36.48), sophomore Daniel Maes (30^th – 23:22.61), freshman Alek Duran (31^st – 23:31.91) and junior Allan Ortiz (36^th – 25:01.24) rounded out the UTEP men’s side.

UTEP will compete at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 4 in South Bend, Ind.

UTEP cross country will host the 35^th Lori Fitzgerald Memorial on Friday, Sept. 13 at Chamizal National Memorial Park.

Joining the Miners will be El Paso Community College, NM State, Sul Ross and Western New Mexico. The men will open the meet in the 7K with the gun going off at 6 p.m., while the women’s 5K will shoot off at 6:45 p.m.

Running for the men will be Cory Calvani, Titus Cheruiyot, Alek Duran, Cornelius Kapel, Rodgers Korir, Daniel Maes, Allan Ortiz, Kayn Quinones, Boaz Ronoh, Michael Sims and Kenneth Talavera. For the women, last year’s champion Linda Cheruiyot, Carolyne Chepkosgei, Karoline Daland, Valerie Gonzalez, Joan Kimaiyo, Winny Koech and Jacquilyn Orozco will suit up.

Titus Cheruiyot is off to a fast start in his collegiate career as the freshman raced out to a first-place finish in the 5K at the Lobo Invitational Aug. 31 in Albuquerque N.M. Cheruiyot posted a time of 15:17.88, while teammate Korir (15:18.64) finished second in a tight competition.

The UTEP men’s team tallied 44 points, placing second behind New Mexico (35 points). The women’s team finished third with a score of 74 behind NM State (51) and New Mexico (40).

Linda Cheruiyot (18:15.81) placed second overall to lead her squad, while Chepkosgei (18:22.47) finished third overall.

A BIT OF LORI FITZGERALD HISTORY

Lori Fitzgerald, a native of Denver, Colo., was recruited to UTEP by then-cross country and distance coach Gary Mazziotti in 1985. She was offered a full academic scholarship to attend Brown University at the end of her high school career.

Fitzgerald chose to become a student-athlete at The University of Texas at El Paso.

Fitzgerald was with the program for only three weeks in El Paso before a tragic accident. She was hit by a farming truck in the Upper Valley of Sunland Park Drive while warming up for the teams’ last time trial run to determine the top seven runners.

It happened a week before what would have been her first cross country competition at UTEP.

“I’ve had many feelings and emotions over the years with Lori’s accident,” Mazziotti wrote in an email recently. “She was such a beautiful human being – Lori was giving and caring towards everyone she met. She was a three-time state champion from Colorado and a high school valedictorian.”

Maziotti is a UTEP alumni, class of 1973 and was a team member of the 1969 cross country team. He went on to become the cross country and distance coach for three seasons (1984-1986). He currently lives in Los Angeles and will attend Friday’s meet.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – UTEP freshman Titus Cheruiyot competed in his first collegiate event and raced out to a first-place finish.

Cheruiyot posted a time of 15:17, one second ahead of teammate and second-place finisher sophomore Rodgers Korir at the University of New Mexico Lobo Cross Country Invitational at UNM North Golf Course Saturday morning.

The men’s team finished second overall with a score of 44, while the women finished third with a team score of 74.

“I am pleased on performance of both our men and women cross country teams during our season opener,” UTEP Head Coach Paul Ereng said. “The men’s team got the winner and runner up in the race, and managed to place five athletes in the top 25. It was a great accomplishment and morale booster for the team.”

On the UTEP women’s side, senior Linda Cheruiyot finished third (18:15) as the top Miner, while junior Carolyne Chepkosgei placed fourth (18:22). New Mexico JC’s Flomena Asekol won the women’s race with a time of 17:18.

“The women’s team also did well led by the Conference USA defending champion Linda Cheruiyot who finished 3rd followed closely by Carolyne Chepkosgei and Karoline Daland,” Ereng added. “I believe both teams will build on today performances as we look forward an exciting season a head.”

Sophomore Boaz Ronoh (16:09) finished 11th, junior Cornelius Kapel (16:12) placed 12th and freshman Kayn Quinones (16:26) was 22nd. Sophomore Michael Sims (36th, 17:07), sophomore Cory Calvani (41st, 17:28), junior Allan Ortiz (45th, 17:40), freshman Alek Duran (48th, 17:43) and sophomore Daniel Maes (51st, 18:17) rounded out the UTEP men’s side.

Sophomore Karoline Daland placed 11th with a time of 18:59, while freshmen Joan Kimaiyo (31st, 22:15), Jacquilyn Orozco (39th, 23:37) and Valerie Gonzales (40th, 23:51) rounded out the women’s side.

For full results, click here.