Spartans Repeat A-Sun Team Championship; Kemboi Three-Peats
10/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Parker, kparker@uscupstate.edu
FORT MYERS, Fla. – USC Upstate men's cross country team defended its Atlantic Sun Conference Championship crown Saturday as Gilbert Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) won his third-straight individual title at the 2012 A-Sun Championships hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University.
The Spartans bring home their second-straight A-Sun team trophy, edging ETSU Saturday by just four points. With five runners in the top 20, Upstate beat the Buccaneers 49 points to 53 points, while Kennesaw State took third-place with 85 points.
"Our guys followed the race plan pretty well," said Upstate Associate Head Coach Carson Blackwelder. "Ross (Oden) and Christian (Ritacco) moved up really well in the last mile and half and put us in a position to win. It really came down to our fourth and fifth runners, just out-kicking people in the end. Our goal was to have four athletes make All-Conference and they achieved that."
With his third consecutive title, Kemboi became the third athlete in conference history to win three A-Sun individual cross country championships and the only one from the current member institutions as Michael Green (1998-200) from Troy and Andrew Letherby (1994, 1996-97) from Georgia State comprise the three-peat list. Kemboi grabbed first-place with a time of 24:16.70, well ahead of the second-place Nabil Hamid from KSU with a time of 24:43.80.
"It's one of those rare things I think," Kemboi said. "It is a privilege to do this. It's about consistency and just being determined and even in all aspects of life. We came all the way from Spartanburg, S.C. It was a long bus trip, but we came here on a mission. We did what we came to do and I'm proud of my teammates and I thank them for what they did in making this a success."
The Spartans landed four athletes on the All-Atlantic Sun First and Second Teams. Kemboi was named the 2012 A-Sun Runner of the Year and collected First Team All-Conference honors, while senior Davey Dennison (Carlisle, Pa.), senior Cameron Thomas (Niceville, Fla.) and junior Ross Oden (Salisbury, N.C.) were All-A-Sun Second Team selections. Blackwelder picked-up his second-straight A-Sun Coach of the Year honor.
"It's a great honor, but I don't really do the running; the guys do the running," Blackwelder said. "I give all the credit to them. Being Coach of the Year is really just a product of them winning."
Thomas kept Dennison in his sight during most of the race, but closed the gap towards the end as the two worked together to finish strong with Dennison earning eighth-place and Thomas in ninth. The senior duo finish with personal-best times as Dennison crossed the line in 25:05.40 and Thomas in 25:07.10. Oden came across the line shortly after, taking 12th-place with a personal-record time of 25:25.80.
Upstate senior Christian Ritacco (Niceville, Fla.) sneaked into the top 20 for the Spartans, coming in 19th with a season-best mark of 25:55.70. Sophomore Mark Rennix (Beaufort, S.C.) was the sixth finisher for Upstate, taking 34th-place with a career-best time of 26:27.70.
Junior Andrew Kipchumba (Eldoret, Kenya) followed in 39th with a time of 26:37.9. Junior Joey Daversa (Chesapeake, Va.) and senior Dylan Taylor (Woodruff, S.C.) finished things out for the Spartans, turning in times of 27:17.60 and 27:49.40.
Upstate returns to action Nov. 9, traveling to Charlotte, N.C., for the NCAA Southeast Regionals. Follow the Spartans this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
