Raiders race against strong field at UAB Invitational

Friday, October 16

Birmingham, AL

7:45 AM CT

Middle Tennessee

UAB Invitational

10/16/2020 4:24:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country

Men's Results Women's Results

By: @MTAthletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Both Middle Tennessee cross country teams finished seventh on Friday in a very strong UAB Invitational field littered with ranked teams and 2019 NCAA regional competitors.

"Overall, I'm happy with both teams today," MT head cross country coach Keith Vroman said. "This was the toughest regular season meet we have ever run. It happened to be the first and last regular season competition this year, which makes for a short learning curve."

MT's women were first up, with the starting gun sounding off at 7:45 a.m. in Birmingham. 2019 Conference USA champion Eusila Chepkemei finished first on the team and 13th overall in a field that included runners from No. 1 Arkansas, No. 12 Florida State and No. 22 Ole Miss.

"Eusila ran pretty tough today," Vroman added. "She got into a good rhythm during the race and competed well against some of the best runners in the country."

Sophomore Faith Rono captured a new 6K personal record in the first cross country meet of 2020. Additionally, Francisca Jebor made her cross country debut after only competing in indoor track and field last year, and Caitlin Cunningham made her Blue Raider debut.

Women's Results (6K)
13	Eusila Chepkemei	20:38.49
26	Faith Rono	21:01.79
28	Joice Jebor	21:03.48
54	Mercy Chepkurui	21:41.37
63	Caitlin Cunningham	21:58.72
99	Francisca Jebor	22:52.66

The Blue Raider men were led Friday morning by three-time C-USA champion Jacob Choge. The senior placed 24th overall among a field with three teams that competed in the NCAA Championships last year and four other teams that raced against the Blue Raiders at the NCAA South Regional a year ago.

Sophomore Stephen Mengich recorded a personal best time in the 8K race, and freshman Isaiah Strauel made his Blue Raider debut.

"Both Faith and Stephen have shown big improvements in practice recently, and it showed today against some good competition," Vroman said of his two Blue Raiders that set personal best times on Friday.

Men's Results (8K)
24	Jacob Choge	24:33.13
31	Thobile Mosito	24:39.48
45	Brian Rono	24:51.51
49	Stephen Mengich	24:55.72
86	Isaiah Strauel	26:28.88

Next Race

Vroman and the Blue Raiders now turn their attention to the Conference USA Championship on Saturday, Oct. 31. MT will be back at Veteran's Park in Birmingham for the championship race.

"We made some tactical racing errors today because we were unfamiliar with the course, but that's why we came to UAB for this meet," Vroman added. "We needed to get a good look at the course and learn."

Chepkemei and Choge will both be looking to repeat as C-USA Champions when the starting gun sounds on Halloween morning in Birmingham.

Follow the Blue Raiders

Keep up with Blue Raider cross country this fall on Facebook (Blue Raider XC/Track & Field), Twitter (@MT_TrackField) and Instagram (@mt_trackfield).