LOUISVILLE, KY.—The Austin Peay State University men's and women's cross country teams continued to progress in the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday morning.
Fifth-year senior Mathew Biwott paced the Governors with a 25:42.03 in the eight-kilometer race finishing eighth just ahead of sophomore Nash Young, who crossed the line in 25:47.89 in 11th place. Fifth-year senior Shadrack Matelong (26:06.09), junior Hezron Kiptoo (26:25.52), and sophomore Tyler Smith (26:47.26) completed the scoring for the Govs, who finished fourth just behind the teams from South Alabama, Memphis and Chattanooga. Freshmen Elliot Giles (28:27.48) and Daniel Davis (29:085.98), along with sophomore Andrew Abel had strong showings for the Govs.
On the women's side, junior Emmaculate Kiplagat was the first Governor to cross the line with a time of 18:26.09. This is the fourth time this season that Kiplagat has paced the Govs, while junior Caroline Kiplagat (19:09.54) closed the gap to just over 30 seconds between the junior duo. Seniors Sarah-Emily Woodward (20:59.36), Sarah Carpenter (21:44.55) along with freshman Sophia Wilson (21:545.26) rounded out the women's scoring for the Govs, while freshmen Keleah Shell (22:34.82) and Alura Endres (23:20.41) ran well for the Governors.
The Govs were short-handed due to injuries, but head coach Doug Molnar was positive about the team's performance.
"Mathew ran closer to what he is capable of today, which is good," said Molnar. "The men are getting there, we just need to get everyone firing on the same day.
"Emmaculate and Caroline had solid efforts today," Molnar continued. "On the women's side, with our numbers, we can't afford any miscues or injuries, or else it is going to hurt us."
The Govs final race before the Ohio Valley Conference championships is set for 10 a.m., Saturday October 14 at the UE Invitational in Evansville, Ind. This is the second time in the last five years that the Governors will run at the University of Evansville leading into the OVC championships.
