Tide Men's Cross Country Continues Successful Run
10/16/2005 12:00:00 AM
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The University of Alabama men’s cross country team continued its hot streak this weekend at the Chile Pepper Festival, posting a fourth place finish at the prestigious meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Crimson Tide came up four points shy of defeating 11th ranked UTEP and five points of sixth ranked Arizona. Alabama totaled 98 points led once again by freshman Augustus Maiyo. While coach Joe Walker was pleased with his team’s effort, it didn’t take away the disappointment from “coming up short.”
“We had a really good meet. I felt like going in our goal was to challenge UTEP,” said Walker. “The way the race unfolded at the line I thought we had beaten them. It’s tough coming up short. It’s kind of similar to losing a football game on a last second field goal, even though you know you played well, it’s a tough loss.”
Maiyo posted a ninth place finish in the 10k race with a time of 29:06.30. It was the fourth time this season that Alabama has been led by the freshman and the fourth time he has posted a top 10 finish. Fellow freshman Abraham Kutingala finished 13th with a time of 29:24.50 while junior Alex Korir posted an 18th place finish with a time of 29:39.50.
The meet was the final tune-up for the Crimson Tide who will have next weekend off before traveling to Columbia, South Carolina for the 2005 SEC Championships on Saturday, October 29.
