Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Raider Runners Ready for Nationals Return
11/17/2017 11:23:00 AM | Track & Field/Cross Country
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On Saturday, Nov. 18, 364 days after its first trip to the NCAA Championships, Middle Tennessee's men's cross country team will return to the nation's final meet.
This time around, they aren't the nervous first-timers they were a year ago. They're an experienced team looking for a good showing at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
"I think we're feeling good right now," senior Sampson Laari said. "Last year was our first experience, and I think excitement was a little bit down. But, now we've been there before and we know what we're expected to do. I think we're excited and ready to do our best out there."
After reaching new heights in the 2016 season, including being ranked for the first time and going to their first NCAA Championships, the No. 22 Blue Raiders have upped the ante this year.
They were ranked 21st nationally in the preseason – at the time the highest ranking in school history – and have climbed to as high as 19th. They also captured their first Conference USA title and for the first time won the NCAA South Regional, scoring 71 points to beat out ranked teams Ole Miss and Alabama. Coach Keith Vroman was named USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year after the meet.
"The experience on this year's team has been the difference," Laari said. Middle Tennessee's top five features three seniors – Laari and Amos Cheruiyot and Geoffrey Cheruiyot – to go with sophomores Jacob Choge and Kigen Chemadi.
"This year, we don't have any freshmen on the team, which means the experience is there and all of us have been there before," Laari said. "I think this year's team is more determined. Everyone knows what to expect out there … and we know what to do when we see difficulties."
Choge and Chemadi have led the way all season.
Chemadi was named the program's first National XC Athlete of the Week after MT's first race of the year, and Choge repeated as C-USA champion and was twice named conference athlete of the week. The two paced the Raiders at the South Regional, Choge finishing third and Chemadi fifth overall.
With the sophomores leading the way, the Blue and White are expecting to put forth a better showing at nationals after a 28th place finish a year ago. Choge was the top man in the race with a 40th-place finish, earning the program's first All-American honor.
According to Laari, they just have to run smarter than they did in Terre Haute, Indiana, last year. They'll benefit by knowing they can handle the course well after taking part in the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 30, finishing sixth out of 30 teams.
"Last year, I think in some of our races we didn't really know what to do … and we realized the championship is won in the second 5k," Laari said. "In the beginning, we went all out and at the end we died because we had a lack of experience."
"We've started everything out this year with training very hard to be sure we're in there … and I think we're going to do our best."
The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. It can be viewed live at www.flotrack.org, and live results can be found at ncaa.com.
Players Mentioned
