Kandie Advances To NCAA Finals; Hilltoppers Finish 10th At NCAA Southeast Region

Louisville, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University men's and women's cross country teams ran the NCAA Southeast Regional this morning at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville. The Hilltoppers finished tenth in the team standings and had two individuals earn all-Region honors, while the Lady Toppers were 16th with one all-Region honors.

Marion Kandie will make her second-straight trip to the NCAA Championship after earning an automatic individual berth with a fourth-place time of 20:21.7 over the 6,000-meter course. Michelle Finn was the second finisher for WKU, placing 51st at 21:40.6, while Vasity Chemweno was 71st in 21:57.6.

For the men, Deus Rwaheru and Peter Okwera earned all-Southeast Region honors with top-25 finishes. Rwaheru finished ninth in the 10,000-meter race, clocking a time of 30:19.9, and will find out Sunday if he will earn a trip to the NCAA Finals. Okwera, a freshman, placed 20th with a time of 30:44.4. Another freshman – David Mokone – placed 32nd among individuals with a time of 31:05.5. Kyle Chettleburgh finished 69th with a clocking of 31:57.2.

The NCAA Championships will once again be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., this year, with the races scheduled for November 21st.

WKU Men's Individual Finishes - 10,000m

9. Rwaheru, Deus (30:19.9)

20. Okwera, Peter (30:44.4)

32. Mokone, David (31:05.5)

69. Chettleburgh, Kyle (31:57.2)

159. Hurd, Sean (33:53.8)

192. Austin, Brett (35:16.4)

193. Wallace, Matthew (35:20.7)

WKU Women's Individual Finishes - 6,000m

4. Kandie, Marion (20:21.7)

51. Finn, Michelle (21:40.6)

71. Chemweno, Vasity (21:57.6)