Texan Mosaic

by Kendall Rainer

The South Plains College women’s cross country team opened the 2019 season by placing first and second at their first two meets.

The Lady Texans placed second at the Texas Tech Cross Country Classic, while the Texans placed ninth.

The meet was held Sept. 21 at the Lubbock Christian University Golf Course.

In the women’s 5-kilometer run, SPC finished with a total team time of 1:37:07, and an average time of 19:25.38. Texas Tech placed first with an average time of 18:53.32.

Sophomore All-American Gladys Jemaiyo placed second with a time of 18:07.60. Freshman Daisy Kibet was the next Lady Texan to cross the finish line with a time of 18:26.80. Her time was good enough for fourth place.

  Sophomore Dorcus Ewoi placed sixth with a time of 18:43.10. Sophomore Itzel Garcia-Santos finished 32nd with a time of 20:36.90.

In the men’s 8-kilometer run, the Texans finished with an overall team time of 2:31:20, and an average of 30:16.16.

Freshman Abdirizak Ibrahim was the first runner across the line for SPC, as he finished 11th overall with a time of 27:00.40. Sophomore Alex Kitum finished 19th with a time of 27:25.20.

Freshman Ryan Robinson finished 51st with a time of 29:35.70, while sophomore Yusuf Mohamud finished with a time of 31:10.60 in 72nd place. Freshman Alejandro Morales finished 92nd after crossing the finish line at 36:08.90.

The SPC women’s cross country team placed first in the opening meet of the 2019 cross country season, which was held Sept. 14 at Western Texas College in Snyder.

In the women’s 5-kilometer race, SPC finished with 26 points and a total time of 1:41:42.23, with an average time of 20:20.45. New Mexico Junior College placed second in the team standings with an average of 20:44.27, while Ranger College placed third with an average time of 23:23.91

Jemaiyo was the first Lady Texan across the finish line, placing second with a time of 19:13.92. Kibet wasn’t far behind with a time of 19:41.79, good enough for third place. Ewoi was the fourth runner to cross the line with a time of 20:10:37.

Garcia-Santos placed seventh with a time of 21:08.64. Sophomore Nya Sena finished with a time of 21:27.51, good enough for 11th place. Sophomore Angela Rodriquez finished 14th with a time of 22:16.69.   

The men’s cross country team was unable to place in the team standings, as they only competed with four runners.

Kitum placed third in the men’s 8-kilometer run with a time of 27:18.59. Ibrahim was on Kitum’s heels, crossing the line just a second after him at 27:19.49, and finishing fourth

The SPC men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the New Mexico Junior College Open which was held on Sept. 27 in Hobbs, New Mexico. Results were not available at press time.