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NEW ORLEANS – The Eastern Kentucky University men's cross country team jumped one spot to No. 20 in the most recent national poll released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday.
The jump comes after EKU won the Bluegrass Invitational at Masterson Station Park in Lexington on Saturday, upsetting No. 4 Oklahoma State while also defeating the likes of host Kentucky, Ohio State, Akron, Tennessee and Morehead State.
The Colonels were led by the performance of junior
Amos Kosgey, who cruised to victory in the 8K race with a time of 23:49.52, defeating his nearest competitor by nearly 12 seconds. Kosgey, who sat out last season due to injuries, defeated a field of 124 runners in his first cross country race since 2012.
Sophomore
Ambrose Maritim placed fourth with a time of 24:09.18, while sophomore
Luka Ndungu (eighth / 24:24.20), freshman
Ronald Korir (11
th / 24:32.22) and senior
Sean Vandermosten (21
st / 24:54.02) rounded out EKU's scoring five.
Eastern finished with 45 points, just enough to beat three-time national champion Oklahoma State (48). Ohio State (92) was third, followed by Southern Indiana (107), host Kentucky (127), Akron (179), Tennessee (192) and Morehead State (193).
The Colonels are now ranked just ahead of No. 21 Princeton, No. 22 Michigan, No. 23 Texas, No. 24 UCLA and No. 25 Florida State.
The EKU men return to action on Friday, October 3 at the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
