David paces cross country at Greater Louisville Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Middle Tennessee senior Justus David continued his impressive season on Saturday, placing second overall in the men’s 8k at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky.

David finished with a time of 23 minutes, 49.04 seconds – less than two seconds behind individual champion Tyler Byrne of Louisville. With the second-place finish, the Kitui, Kenya, native has now placed in the top three in each of his three competitions this season.

“Justus continues to perform at an extremely high level,” said cross country coach Dean Hayes. “He ran another great race today against some very good competition.”

Freshman Robinson Simatei also notched a solid performance on Saturday, posting a time of 24:38.08 to finish 28th.

Overall, the Blue Raider men took home a 13th-place finish in the 29-team field. Purdue claimed the men’s team title, amassing 113 points to easily outpace host Louisville which tallied 150 points.

In the women’s race, freshman Lucy Kapkiai led the Blue Raider women with an 11th-place finish, clocking a 5k time of 17:20.20.

“Lucy proved just how talented she is today,” Hayes said. “She faced some great competition and ran a terrific race.”

The Middle Tennessee women finished 29th overall as Michigan won the event, finishing with 81 points. Ferris State placed a distant second with 190 points.

The Blue Raider cross country teams will step away from competition next weekend before returning to the course on Oct. 15 for the Front Runner Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn.

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 the new Track & Field Notebook, which can be found here as well as linked on the Track & Field page on GoBlueRaiders.com.

Men's Team Results (Top 10 and Middle Tennessee)
Finish, Team, Points
1, Purdue, 113
2, Louisville, 150
3, Albany, 156
4, Western Kentucky, 168
5, Southern Illinois, 208
6, Marquette, 218
7, Davidson, 224
8, Kentucky, 233
9, Shorter, 267
10, Southern Indiana, 291
13, Middle Tennessee, 384
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P> Men's Individual Results (Winner and MT Finishers)
Finish, Name, Time
1, Tyler Byrne (Louisville), 23:47.12
2, Justus David, 23:49.04
28, Robinson Simatei, 24:38.08
72, Silas Taiget, 25:14.70
144, Lyle Haywood, 25:59.37
162, Vincent Bett, 26:10.54
166, Keith Davis, 26:18.72
233, Jamarious Jones, 28:15.97

Women's Team Results (Top 10 and Middle Tennessee)
Finish, Team, Points
1, Michigan, 81
2, Ferris State, 190
3, Ole Miss, 202
4, Purdue, 228
5, South Florida, 232
6, Alabama, 240
7, Illinois State, 246
8, West Virginia, 247
9, East Carolina, 263
10, Vanderbilt, 325
29, Middle Tennessee, 720

Women's Individual Results (Winner and MT Finishers)
Finish, Name, Time
1, Lydia Kosgei (Eastern Kentucky), 16:51.12
11, Lucy Kapkiai, 17:20.20
120, Autumn Gipson, 18:36.91
215, Denna Brasz, 19:21.90
244, Rachel Islam, 20:11.89
257, Stephanie Smith, 21:02.55
261, Tressanique Hampton, 22:29.74

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.