Photo Gallery I Men's Indiv. Results I Men's Team Results I Women's Indiv. Results I Women's Team Results

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s cross country team finished 26th in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, while senior Lydia Kosgei placed 37th overall in the women’s race to earn All-American honors on Monday at the LaVerne Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

The EKU men became the first team in school history and the first Ohio Valley Conference team since 1980 to qualify for the NCAA Championships when they finished second at the Southeast Regional Championships last Saturday. The Colonels – who rose as high as No. 17 in the national rankings during the regular season – defeated Columbia, Cal Poly, Georgia, Florida and New Mexico to take 26th place in a 31-team field on Monday.

Wisconsin, the top-ranked team in the country heading in to the meet, won the team championship, defeating two-time defending national champion Oklahoma State by 42 points.

Facing cold and wet conditions, EKU was led by sophomore Soufiane Bouchikhi, who finished 47th out of 252 runners with a 10K time of 30:20.7. The Antwerp, Belgium native, who finished 49th as an individual at last year’s national championship meet, missed out on All-American honors by just seven spots.

Senior Ben Cheruiyot finished 83rd in a time of 30:41.0, while seniors Peter Sigilai (184th / 31:33.7) and Evans Kiptoo (208th / 31:54.6) and sophomore Adams Ronnoh (209th / 31:55.0) rounded out EKU’s top-five finishers. Freshman Thijs Nijhuis (230th / 32:14.7) and senior David Mutuse (244th / 32:32.5) also competed for the Colonels at the prestigious meet.

Arizona’s Lawi Lalang won the men’s individual championship with a time of 28:44.1.

Kosgei, who just missed out on All-American honors in the 5,000 meters during the outdoor track and field season, was named an All-American on Monday after placing 37th out of 254 runners in the women’s race with a 6K time of 20:27.7. The Eldoret, Kenya native is EKU’s first cross country All-American since Jacob Korir in 2007, and her finish is the second highest ever by an OVC woman at the national championship meet (Samford’s Lauren Blankenship finished 24th in 2007).

Kosgei finished second overall at the Southeast Regional Championship last Saturday to become the first woman in EKU history and just the sixth woman in OVC history to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual.

Villanova’s Sheila Reed edged Oregon’s Jordan Hasay to win the women’s individual championship with a time of 19:41.2.