HOUSTON – In his first-ever collegiate meet, freshman
Mathayo Kiptoo Bundotich from the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country program headlined the day for the Islanders with a first-place finish at the 47th annual Rice Invitational.
Bundotich, from Nakuru, Kenya, registered a 6000m time of 15:47.9 to win the race by 3.5 seconds over Gannon Gus from Rice. Bundotich ran at a 3:02/K pace.
The women were guided by senior
Sharon Kiprop who finished in seventh with a 4000m time of 14:56.3. She ran at a 3:44/K pace.
"Mathayo and Sharon both ran fantastic races and executed them with great patience. I'm very happy for Mathayo to claim his first win in his first college race," said head coach Bryan Jackson.
Both the men and women finished in third-place as teams.
Bundotich was one of three men to place top-20. Junior
Rogerio Gomez clocked in at 16:25.8 to end in 14th, while senior
Enock Kimutai took 17th with a 16:37.1 time.
The women registered four top-16 performances. Freshman
Kate Brockman timed at 15:08.5 to earn 12th and was just seconds ahead of sophomore
Deandra Ibarra and junior
Chloe Garcia Grafing. Ibarra turned in a 15:12.9, while Grafing darted in at 15:14.
"I'm very proud of the effort I got from this team today. For an opening race, this was a great starting point. I am excited to see how we continue to grow over the next few weeks as we prepare for Roy Griak," Jackson said.
A&M-Corpus Christi will head north on Friday, Sept. 22 when it competes in the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by Minnesota.
Men's Team Standings
1. Rice, 23
2. Stephen F. Austin, 79
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 103
4. Lamar, 108
5. HCU, 168
6. Texas A&M-International, 173
7. Prairie View A&M, 202
8. St. Thomas (TX), 215
9. Texas Southern, 216
10. Concordia (TX), 227
11. Texas Lutheran, 292
12. Northwestern State, 305
Men's Individuals (6000m out of 106 competitors)
1.
Mathayo Kiptoo Bundotich, 15:47.9 (CHAMPION)
14.
Rogerio Gomez, 16:25.8
17.
Enock Kimutai, 16:37.1
50.
Gregorio Alcorta, 17:33.1
51.
Hunter Haas, 17:33.6
83.
Dorian Mayorga Holloway, 18:28.6
94.
Reese Lara, 19:29.5
101.
Mathew Flores, 21:06.2
Women's Team Standings
1. Lamar, 65
2. Rice, 66 (1)
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 66 (2)
4. Stephen F. Austin, 66 (3)
5. HCU, 98
6. St. Thomas (TX), 196
7. Texas A&M-International, 200
8. Texas Lutheran, 216
9. Northwestern State, 230
10. Prairie View A&M, 270
Women's Individuals (4000m out of 86 competitors)
7.
Sharon Kiprop, 14:56.3
12.
Kate Brockman, 15:08.5
15.
Deandra Ibarra, 15:12.9
16.
Chloe Garcia Grafing, 15:14.0
31.
Riley Cowan, 16:05.9
46.
Faith Ramos, 17:07.1
Stay Social
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@IslandersTFXC), Instagram (
@IslandersTFXC) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Track & Field/Cross Country).
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