Texans Win NJCAA Half-Marathon

November 22, 2008

Overland Park, Kansas - After coming up just short of another NJCAA National Championship two weeks ago at the cross country championships, the Texan distance runners bounced back and won the NJCAA Half-Marathon national championship in Overland Park, Kansas.

The Texans dominated the event by placing all three scoring runners in the top six, led by Tallam Kipruto's third place finish. Kipruto completed the half-marathon course (13.1 miles) in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 20.0 seconds. The next scoring Texan was Mitchell Driver who finished fifth overall in a time of 1:12.44, followed by Anthony Pequeno in sixth with a time of 1:13.04. All three scorers for South Plains earned All-American honors, leading the Texans to an 11 point victory over Iowa Central. Also running for SPC, Javier Perez (1:17.04) crossed the line in 25th place, and Blake Rothbard (1:20.00) finished 41st overall.

The Lady Texan distance runners also had a strong national showing, as they finished third in the team standings.

Gladys Chumba earned another All-American certificate by placing sixth and finishing with a time of 1:29.14. Lorianne Pattee was the second Lady Texan crossing the line, finishing 18th overall in a time of 1:35.58, and Meagan Willingham was not far behind finishing 20th in 1:36.29. Shayla Contreras (1:40.04) was South Plains' fourth competitor finishing 28th.

The South Plains distance runners will now get a break before returning to indoor track and field action in January.