Sept. 28, 2007
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU cross country program will continue its cross country season on Saturday morning at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla. Start time for the women's race is set for 9:10 a.m., while the men will follow at 9:40 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course.
Last fall, the TCU men's and women's cross country teams finished sixth and third, respectively at the Cowboy Jamboree. Former Horned Frog Calandra Stewart paced both the men and women for TCU with a fourth-place finish in the women's 5K.
Scouting TCU
The women's team, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the South Central Region, comes into this weekend having finished sixth overall at the Texas A&M Invite.
Leading the way for the Horned Frogs during the early portion of the season has been freshman Tanja Ivandic, Ashley Young and Dani Selner. Ivandic ran ran 19:21.00 at College Station, while Young crossed the finish line in a time of 19:29.00. Selner, who turned in another good performance, ran 19:46.00 at Texas A&M.
On the men's side, Festus Kigen continues to pace the Horned Frogs this fall after collecting his second runner-up performance at the Texas A&M Invite. Kigen and senior Matt Manly, who placed ninth in College Station, have finished first and second, respectively in each of the Horned Frogs meets this fall.
Last Time Out (TCU runs well at Texas A&M)
Sophomore Festus Kigen finished second overall Saturday morning to lead TCU at the Texas A&M Invitational.
Kigen, an Eldoret, Kenya, native, crossed the finish line in 24:15.00 at the Texas A&M Intramural Fields. Placing ninth overall out of 92 runners was senior Matt Manly, who ran 24:55.00.
"Festus ran outstanding today and I thought Matt Manly did exactly what he needed to do to have success," said distance coach Shawn Winget.
Freshman Jeff Pels, a Coppell native, was next for the Frogs, running 26:59.00 to finish in 48th place, while Jake Womeldorf, who ran 27:43.00, crossed the finish line in 62nd.
As a team, TCU placed fifth overall on the men's side, while the women posted a sixth-place finish out of 12 teams.
Leading the way on the TCU women's side was freshman Tanja Ivandic, who ran 19:21.00 in the 5K race. Ivandic, who finished in 36th place, was followed by Ashley Young, a junior from Lewisville, who ran 19:29.00 to place 37th overall.
Crossing the finish line in 44th was Danielle Selner (19:46.00), while Shannon Andrew placed 48th overall with a time of 19:54.00.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this week's meet in Stillwater, Okla., can follow the meet by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. Results will be posted following the men's and women's race.
Regional Respect
The TCU men's and women's cross country teams enter this weekend ranked in the top-15 of the South Central Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The TCU women are currently ranked No. 10 in the South Central Region, while the men are ranked No. 13 in the region. Both teams are coming off strong performances at the Texas A&M Invitational this past weekend.
Kigen A First This Fall
Sophomore Festus Kigen was selected as the Mountain West Conference men's cross country athlete of the week this week.
Kigen received his first conference athlete of the week honor after finishing second overall at the Texas A&M Invitational held on Sept. 22, in College Station, Texas. The Eldoret, Kenya, native crossed the finish line in 24:15.
Kigen, who's time at Texas A&M was his fastest of the season, currently leads the MWC in the 8K category.
Manly Second In Command
Overall, senior Matt Manly has had a solid cross country season so far this fall. Manly, a Leander native, has finished right behind Festus Kigen in every meet this season. Manly's top-placing this fall is a sixth-place finish at UNT.
Women Improving On The Run
The TCU women came out of last weekend, finishing sixth out of 12 teams at the Texas A&M Invitation. Overall, the Horned Frogs had three of its top four runners (Ashley Young, Danielle Selner & Shannon Andrew) turn in season bests in the 5K.
Next Opponent
TCU will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 13 for the Chile Pepper Festival. Start time has yet to be determined.
