Lady Tops Fifth At Alabama; Hilltoppers 18th At Pre-Nationals Over The Weekend

Terre Haute, Ind. - The Western Kentucky University men's and women's cross country teams headed opposite directions this weekend in their final tune-up prior to hosting the Sun Belt Championships Saturday, October 29th at Kereiakes Park. The Lady Toppers traveled to Tuscalooa, Ala., Saturday to compete in the Crimson Classic while the Hilltoppers visited Terre Haute, Ind., Sunday to compete in Pre-Nationals.

In Tuscaloosa, the Lady Toppers finished fifth – just six points behind fourth-place Georgia. The women had strong finishes by Marion Kandie (5th, 17:33.13) and Michelle Finn (6th, 17:39.73) – who were the only teammates in the 25-team field to score in the top-ten among individual finishers. In fact, Vasity Chemweno's 11th-place finish (17:56.34) allowed the WKU women to have three scorers cross the line before any other school's number two finisher. The number four scorer for WKU at the Crimson Classic was Monica Akello (88th, 19:37.13), while the fifth scorer was Brianne Porter (93rd, 19:41.73).

In Terre Haute, the Hilltoppers finished 18th in the 35-team field and were led by Deus Rwaheru, who ran amongst the top-ten individuals for much of the race before finishing 26th overall in an 8k time of 24:45. Peter Okwera was just behind his teammate, placing 32nd (24:49). Placing just outside the top-100 was David Mokone (101st, 25:44).

WKU will host the Sun Belt Championship for the 7th time in 11 years on October 29th at Kereiakes Park. The men's 8k race is scheduled to begin at 10:00am (CT), while the women's 5k race is scheduled for 11:00am.

WKU Women's Individual Finshes - Crimson Classic 5k

5. Kandie, Marion, 17:33.13

6. Finn, Michelle, 17:39.73

11. Chemweno, Vasity, 17:56.34

88. Akello, Monica, 19:37.13

93. Porter, Brianne, 19:41.73

100. Mayfield, Tori, 19:48.05

105. Hale, Madison, 19:52.90

119. Reddin, Anna, 20:07.13

132. Hale, Megan, 20:20.32

WKU Men's Individuals Finishes - Pre-Nationals 8k

26. Rwaheru, Deus, 24:45