Kapkiai leads cross country at Commodore Classic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Middle Tennessee freshman Lucy Kapkiai won her second consecutive women’s individual title, clocking a 5k time of 17 minutes, 53.40 seconds on Saturday morning at the Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn.

With the victory, the Eldoret, Kenya, native became the first Blue Raider woman to claim back-to-back individual titles since the turn of the century.

“Lucy ran a spectacular race today,” said cross country coach Dean Hayes. “She continues to run at a very high level as she gains confidence and momentum with every race she runs.”

Meanwhile senior Justus David paced the men with a third-place finish in an 8k time of 24:40.10 for his second top-five finish in as many weeks.

Overall, the Blue Raider men picked up a fifth-place finish, amassing 143 points. Cincinnati took home the men’s team crown with 75 points, 10 better than runner-up Alabama.

Freshmen Robinson Simatei and Silas Taiget also continued their successful seasons thus far. Simatei finished 14th while posting a time of 25:36.20 while Taiget clocked a time of 25:47.40, crossing the finish line in 16th place.

Fellow freshman Vincent Bett made his Blue Raider debut on Saturday and provided the team with a nice performance as he finished 47th in a time of 26:46.50.

“Justus had another great day today,” Hayes said. “I was pleased with how Robinson and Silas ran as well. Vincent Bett also had a good run and really helped us as a team.”

In the women’s race, the Middle Tennessee women failed to qualify a team score as the squad only placed four finishers. However, the team still received strong efforts from the sophomore trio of Autumn Gipson, Deanna Brasz and Rachel Islam who each completed the 5k course in under 20 minutes.

The Crimson Tide totaled 45 points to win the team competition while Lipscomb followed with 51 points.

The Blue Raider cross country teams will take a break from competition next weekend before heading to Louisville, Ky., for the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 1.

Follow the Blue Raider men’s and women’s cross country teams on Twitter @MTTrackField and on Facebook at the MT Track & Field page. Also, stay up-to-date on the teams on their new blog, which can be found linked on the Track & Field page on GoBlueRaiders.com.

< P> Men's Team Results
Finish, Team, Points
1, Cincinnati, 75
2, Alabama, 85
3, Chattanooga, 110
4, Belmont, 131
5, Middle Tennessee, 143
6, Lipscomb, 196
7, Memphis, 204
8, Nashville Harriers, 226
9, Vanderbilt, 231
10, Florida Gulf Coast, 243
11, Marshall, 265
12, Jacksonville State, 287
13, Cerritos, 317
14, Rhodes, 354
15, U. of the South, 419
16, Union (Tenn.), 425
17, Spalding, 459
18, Bethel (Tenn.), 466
19, Birmingham Southern, 527
20, Tennessee State, 608
21, Trevecca Nazarene, 664
22, Freed-Hardemen, 689

Men's Individual Results
Finish, Name, Time (Winner and MT Finishers)
1, Eric Finan (Cincinnati), 24:25.90
3, Justus David, 25:40.10
14, Robinson Simatei, 25:36.20
16, Silas Taiget, 25:47.40
47, Vincent Bett, 26:46.50
68, Lyle Haywood, 27:11.20
82, Keith Davis, 27:32.60
150, Jamarious Jones, 29:59.80

Women's Team Results
Finish, Team, Points
1, Alabama, 45
2, Lipscomb, 51
3, Belmont, 80
4, Vanderbilt, 105
5, Cincinnati, 141
6, Jacksonville State, 182
7, Memphis, 192
8, Rhodes, 224
9, Florida Gulf Coast, 293
10, Marshall, 318
11, Chattanooga, 319
12, Union (Tenn.), 347
13, Cerritos, 353
14, Tennessee-Martin, 390
15, Delta State, 391
16, U. of the South, 450
17, Birmingham-Southern, 549
18, Bethel (Tenn.), 589
19, Freed-Hardeman, 608
20, Trevecca Nazarene, 630
21, Tennessee State, 636
22, Alabama A&M, 645
23, Spalding, 659

Women's Individual Results
Finish, Name, Time (Winner and MT Finishers)
1, Lucy Kapkiai (MT), 17:53.40
42, Autumn Gipson, 19:15.60
53, Deanna Brasz, 19:36.90
68, Rachel Islam, 19:57.80

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