Nov. 19, 2007

After starting out ahead of the pack, the fourth-ranked UTEP men's cross country team finished tenth at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. today. The Miners lapsed after Dominic Tanui fell behind with a back sprain almost midway through the race.

"To finish tenth in the nation is something amazing, but I feel hollow because I know what this team is capable of doing," Head Coach Paul Ereng said. "We were disappointed with the way things turned out, but under the circumstances with Dominic hurt, it is impressive. We are a better team than the results reflected."

UTEP was up front with the pack rounding the 4k mark in second place behind Oregon. With 6k left to run, Tanui's back began cramping and by the end of the race, he was struggling to cross the line. He finished 180th as the fifth runner in to bring the Miner's team total to 331.

Individually, Stephen Samoei finished 23rd (team place 17th) with a time of 30:20.4. Patrick Mutai came in behind Samoei in 48th place (team place 37th) with a time of 30:41.4. Nicodemus Ng'etich came in 57th place (team place 46, 30:44) and Japheth Ngo'joy in 63rd place (team place 51, 30:48). Rounding out the Miners was Aggrey Chirchir in 231st (team place 193, 32:54.2).

Oregon maintained their lead all the way through the race to win the national title. The Duck's Galen Rupp ran the last 100 meter stretch neck and neck with Liberty's Josh McDougal twenty seconds ahead of all other runners. McDougal broke out front with ten meters to the line, crossing with a time of 29:22.4 for the individual title.

Iona finished second with 113 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 180 points. Colorado, who was the Mountain Region's other automatic bid qualifier and the 2006 National Champion, finished the race in seventh place with 287 points.

The Miners ended an outstanding season, having won the Conference USA Championships with a perfect score and earning a trip to the national meet on an automatic bid ticket for only the second time in fifteen years. Including the C-USA Championships, the Miners set two meet records for points.

Samoei, the lone senior on the team, will finish his career as a three-time All-American (top 25 runners earn All-America accolades). He was recognized four times this season as C-USA Athlete of the Week as he led the Miners in all but one meet.

"I was glad they were able to make this trip," Ereng said. "We could not help that Dominic got hurt, but this is the best finish UTEP has had at the national meet in at least 20 years and the best finish since I've been here. I respect what this team has done. Now, we will look to next year."