COLUMBIA, Mo. – The men's cross country team of Eastern Kentucky University finished in 17
th in a loaded national field at the Gans Creek Classic Invitational.
The Colonels were the third-highest finishing team from the Southeast Region with 483 points, trailing only Virginia (2
nd) and Wake Forest (9
th).
EKU finished ahead of two nationally ranked teams in No. 25 Ole Miss (20
th) and No. 28 Furman (21
st).
The 17
th-place finish also saw the Colonels finish ahead of multiple regionally ranked teams as well in Michigan (5
th – Great Lakes), Lipscomb (5
th – South), Gonzaga (6
th – West), Florida (8
th – South), Utah Valley (11
th – Mountain), Iona (3
rd – Northeast), Portland (7
th – West), Duke (7
th – Southeast), Navy (4
th – Mid-Atlantic), Texas Tech (10
th – Mountain), Weber State (6
th – Mountain), and Montana State (8
th – Mountain).
Taha Er Raouy led the Colonels in his 2025 debut, finishing 31
st in a time of 23:07.3, a new personal best over 8K, moving up nine places over the final two kilometers.
Brian Kimutai made his collegiate debut, finishing 33
rd in 23:08.05. The freshman ran his second and third fastest splits coming over the final two kilometers.
Out of 48 freshmen running, Kimutai was the third-highest finisher.
Mario Priego Montero had one of the best kicks of the day, moving up 10 places over the final kilometer, finishing 95
th at 23:46.3.
Tomas Vega and
James Ndayishimiye rounded out the scoring for EKU in 170
th and 174
th respectively, running the 8K course in 24:20.9 and 24:22.7.
Also running from EKU was
Cesc Boix, who finished 180
th in 24:24.0, and
Cosmas Kiprop, who finished 215
th in 24:55.8.
Final Results - EKU
Pl Pts Time
Taha Er Raouy
31 31 23:07.3
Brian Kimutai
33 33 23:08.5
Mario Priego
95 94 23:46.3
Tomas Vega
170 163 24:20.9
James Ndayishimiye
174 166 24:22.7
Cesc Boix
178 (170) 24:24.0
Cosmas Kiprop
213 (201) 24:55.8
Up Next
EKU cross country will next compete on October 4 at the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Ky.
