Cross Country Runs into Rain Delays at Hutchinson
September 5, 2017
Hutchinson, Kan.Two separate lightning delays put a damper on runners competing in the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic hosted by Hutchinson Community College on Friday evening, Sept. 1.
The Panhandle State cross country teams took part in the event along with nine other women's teams and eleven other men's teams. Both groups took to the course at the Fun Valley Sports Complex, the women competing in a 3-mile race and the men ran a 4-mile.
Panhandle's Naomi Rodriguez clocked the fastest time for the Aggie women, placing 46th in a field of 93 runners; Rodriguez marked a time of 21:07.78, averaging 7:02.6 per mile. Purity Jepleting finished 62nd overall with a time of 22:10.72 followed by Danielle Villarreal (24:22.33), Kiery Fernandez (25:27.55) and Sunaed Ramirez (27:00.09). As a team, the Aggie women placed tenth.
For the men, sophomore Philip Kirongo led the Aggies with a time of 23:23.76 to place 52nd individually among 106 male runners. Kirongo averaged 5:51.0 per mile and was backed by teammates Firas Ghazouani (25:17.00), Aaron Hammett (26:40.42), Jacob Morales (27:40.84) and Cameron Hammett (28:35.12). The men's team finished 12th as a unit.
Fort Hays State teams emerged as the victors for both men and women, while runners Moses Dirane (20:33.25) from Cloud County CC and Mirena Goncalves (18:07.31) from Barton County CC claimed individual titles.
Aggie Cross Country Head Coach Denise Levine felt the weather delays took away some intensity and focus from the runners commenting, "We did not meet our goals. We have a lot of room for improvement, but this group works hard every day."
Panhandle State cross country competes again this weekend as they head to Lubbock, Texas for the Texas Tech Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The Panhandle State cross country teams took part in the event along with nine other women's teams and eleven other men's teams. Both groups took to the course at the Fun Valley Sports Complex, the women competing in a 3-mile race and the men ran a 4-mile.
Panhandle's Naomi Rodriguez clocked the fastest time for the Aggie women, placing 46th in a field of 93 runners; Rodriguez marked a time of 21:07.78, averaging 7:02.6 per mile. Purity Jepleting finished 62nd overall with a time of 22:10.72 followed by Danielle Villarreal (24:22.33), Kiery Fernandez (25:27.55) and Sunaed Ramirez (27:00.09). As a team, the Aggie women placed tenth.
For the men, sophomore Philip Kirongo led the Aggies with a time of 23:23.76 to place 52nd individually among 106 male runners. Kirongo averaged 5:51.0 per mile and was backed by teammates Firas Ghazouani (25:17.00), Aaron Hammett (26:40.42), Jacob Morales (27:40.84) and Cameron Hammett (28:35.12). The men's team finished 12th as a unit.
Fort Hays State teams emerged as the victors for both men and women, while runners Moses Dirane (20:33.25) from Cloud County CC and Mirena Goncalves (18:07.31) from Barton County CC claimed individual titles.
Aggie Cross Country Head Coach Denise Levine felt the weather delays took away some intensity and focus from the runners commenting, "We did not meet our goals. We have a lot of room for improvement, but this group works hard every day."
Panhandle State cross country competes again this weekend as they head to Lubbock, Texas for the Texas Tech Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 9.
