Brighter Jepchumba breaks an 18-year-old course record on the NCAA championship course
The Eastern Kentucky runner's 19:14.0 at the John McNichols Invitational took 14.1 seconds off Sally Kipyego's mark; Kelvin Cheruiyot won the men's 8 km.
The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute hosts the Division I national championships in November. On Saturday it opened its season with the John McNichols Invitational, and an 18-year-old course record went in the first big women's race on it. Brighter Jepchumba of Eastern Kentucky ran 6 km in 19:14.0, 14.1 seconds under the mark Sally Kipyego set 18 years ago, and finished ahead of Katy Zang, who had set a course record at the Sam Bell Invitational a week earlier.
The men's 8 km went to Kelvin Cheruiyot of Florida, the reigning SEC champion, in his first race as a sophomore. He kicked clear of a deep field to win in 23:20.7, with Louisville's Elsingi Kipruto next and BYU's Tayvon Kitchen and Washington State's Evan Kurui and Solomon Kipchoge behind. Only 27 seconds covered the first five, and Kipchoge was the only one of them in the top five at 5 km. Cheruiyot was 14th at last year's national championships.
No. 9 BYU won the men's team race with 71 points and the men's open race as well. No. 8 Northern Arizona took the women's championship race with 61, and Stanford won the women's open race. The hosts, Indiana State, were 18th of 28 women's teams and 29th of 34 men's.
A course record on the course that decides the season, two months before it decides anything.
Sources: Indiana State Athletics; NCAA.com.
