Kisorio finds success at Chile Pepper

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 17, 2009) – Oklahoma Christian had three athletes participate in the Chile Pepper race on Saturday hosted by the University of Arkansas. OC’s Silas Kisorio set the pace placing sixth in a field dominated by NCAA Division I competition.

Nicole Lair, Silas Kisorio, and Geoffrey Njonjo all competed for Oklahoma Christian at Arkansas’ premiere cross country race.

In the women’s college race, Nicole Lair clocked a 23:33 for the six-kilometer race distance to place 136th in the 268-runner field.

In the men’s race, Kisorio covered the 10-kilometer distance in 29:41 to place sixth, with Geoffrey Njonjo placing 96th in a time of 32:19. 241 runners were competed in the men’s college race. “Silas’ time is the fastest ever by an OC runner over 10 kilometers,” head coach Mark Thompson said. ” Silas continues to show that he can run any distance we ask him to run.”

Also competing in the men’s race were OC head coach Mark Thompson (30:51) and assistant coach Sam Dech (31:39) who placed 28th and 59th, respectively. “It is always fun to go back to my alma mater and reconnect with a bunch of old running buddies,” said Thompson.

“I was proud of our effort today. The races were over-distance work for all three of our runners, and I hope that longer races will give them more confidence at the normal distances over the next few weeks,” said Thompson.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams now prepare for their next race in Winfield, Kan. on the 24th at the Mid State Classic hosted by Southwestern College.

-OC-