Cross Country Heads to Knoxville for Tennessee Invitational

Friday, September 11

Knoxville, Tenn.

Middle Tennessee

Tennessee Invitational

9/10/2026 2:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee cross country teams will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Tennessee Invitational on Sept. 11 at the Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course. The men's four-mile race will begin at 7:00 a.m. CT., while the women's three-mile race will start at 7:45 a.m. CT

Quick Notes:

The Blue Raiders had a successful race last Saturday at the Memphis Twilight Classic. The men's team won the meet with 28 points, while the women's team finished second with 61 points.
Allan Kiplagat led the Blue Raiders to the team victory, winning the race in 18:54.26 to secure his second-consecutive individual title
Evalyne Wambui won the individual title in her debut appearance as a Blue Raider, finishing in 16:37.71 and breaking the meet record by 0.99 seconds
Moses Lekokei finished third at 19:17.59, followed by Solomon Sayo in fifth in 19:24.79, Kelvin Tanui in seventh in 19:28.91, Gabe Allen in 12^th in 19:49.52. Mackdonald Songok in 32^nd in 20:30.86, and Juan Lucas de la Fúente in 45^th in 20:51.31
Elizabeth Magoma finished second with a time of 17:20.07, followed by Privillege Chikara in sixth in 17:49.53, Eleanor Towe in 22^nd in 18:28.73, Hailee Gorham in 34^th at 18:55.71 and Lauren Cole 47^th in 19:13.31
Kiplagat and Wambui earned Conference USA Athlete of the Week honors on Sept. 8 following their performances at the Memphis Twilight Classic. It marked Kiplagat's third Athlete of the Week honor and Wambui's first.
The men racing this Friday are Kiplagat, Lekokei, Sayo, Tanui, Allen, De La Fúente and Songok
The women competing are Wambui, Magoma, Chikara, Towe, Gorham and Cole.
Joining them in their 2026 debut are Viviana Salonia and Odilia Jepchumba. Jepchumba won the individual title at the 2024 Conference USA Championship

Series History
Friday's meet will mark the cross country team's first appearance at the Tennessee Invitational.

Scouting the opponents
The Blue Raiders will be competing against Tennessee and Kentucky. This will be both program's season openers. Tennessee were picked fourth in the South Region, while the Lady Vols were picked third regionally.

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