OU Men WIn UNT CC Invitational

DENTON, Texas -- Senior transfer Silverus Kimeli made his first race as a Sooner a special one, winning the individual title of the North Texas Invitational and leading the OU men to a team championship in the process Saturday.

Kimeli covered the muddy 8k course at the UNT Research Park in 24:59. Senior Joe McNair was third with a 25:03 and freshman Jason Coleman was sixth with a 25:31 as the Sooner men had six runners finish in the top 10. OU scored 27 points to beat Big 12 opponent Baylor. The Bears finished with 35 points as the Big 12 teams were the class of the field. Southern Methodist was third followed by Texas Christian and North Texas.

The Baylor women won the 5k event and the Sooner women were fourth with 78 points behind TCU and SMU who tied for second with 71 points.

'The men's team did a great job, running in a pack and following the race plan,' said Sooner coach Rodney Rothoff. 'I am very pleased with where the men are right now.

'The women's team had a shot to finish second but didn't perform as a team as well as they could have. It was the first collegiate 5k for seven of our runners and you expect ups and downs like this. Still, we could have done a better job.'

Nicola Maye led the Sooner women for the second meet in a row, finishing 10th in the overall standings with an 18:28. Jessica Eldridge was 11th with an 18:30 and Catherine Odell was 14th with an 18:53. Maye, a redshirt freshman, competed in one 5k a year ago before sitting out the rest of the season and today's time was nearly a minute faster than the time she ran last year.

Other finishers for the Sooner men included Jimmy Buchanan, eighth, 25:48; Blake Culp, ninth, 26:04; Darren Hutchins, 10th, 26:08; Salah Hussein, 12th, 26:16; Stuart Lisle, 14th, 26:33; Andrew Call, 16th, 26:36; Andrew Tower, 18th, 26:53; Trevor Gillum, 21st, 27:00; and Billy Grona, 30th, 28:09. Jason Penland, who competed unattached, finished the race in 20th place with a 27:00.

Hutchins' time today was a career best in an 8k race.

Kristi Cook was 20th with a 19:29 for the Sooner women followed by Andrea Bonner, who was 27th with a 20:25. Amanda Luksetich was 28th with a 20:32 and Jackie Dubois was 29th with a 20:49. Other Sooner finishers were Shannon Wilson, who was 34th with a 20:57, and Emily Leonard was 40th with a 23:45.

The Sooners will return to competition on Oct. 4 when OU will travel to two meets -- the Murray Keatinge Invitational in Orono, Maine, and the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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