Mutai wins individual title; Broncbusters take 7th at Terry Masterson Classic
By Mike Pilosof
Hutchinson, KS-Emmett Statzer was tasked with rebuilding the cross-country program from the ground up. And in just over a year, the numbers have grown significantly. So has their success.
Freshman Dennis Mutai won the four-mile race while setting a new school record along the way, and the Broncbuster men finished seventh as a team, scoring 170 points.
"We still have a ways to go, but I like how we competed," Statzer said afterwards.
Mutai clocked in with a time of 19:48.7, almost 20 seconds faster than Cloud County's Awet Beraki. And that wasn't even his most impressive feat. The first-year long-distance star ran a 4:57.2 average mile.
Meantime, Kelvin Cheruiyot timed out at 20:51, good for seventh place while his posted mark was the fourth best in school history at the event. Teammate Angel Ayala placed 45th (23:03), Jose "Froy" Ruiz posted a new personal best distance time of 23:27-good for 58th place, Elisha Handsaker was 78th (24.06), and Zaccerie Penka came in 89th at 24:26.
Cloud County won the team title with Cowley, Washburn, Fort Scott, and Newman rounding out the top five.
Garden City returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Oklahoma State Jamboree in Stillwater, OK.