Texans cruise to victory at Region 5 CC Championships

HOBBS, N.M. – Antibahs Kibiwott dominated the field at the Region 5 Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at Harry McAdams Park in Hobbs, winning his third race in a row and fourth in five attempts this season as he led a group of four Texans placing inside the top five and five in the top 10 to help the NJCAA top-ranked Texans walk away with the team title.
The No. 1-ranked Texans seem to be hitting their peak at the right time heading into the NJCAA National Cross Country meet they will host Nov. 8 at Shadow Hills Golf Course in Lubbock as four of their top five runners significantly improved upon their performances run on the same course two weeks ago.
 
Kibiwott navigated the 8,000-meter course in a season best time of 23 minutes, 49.00 seconds to outpace his next closest competitor by 30 seconds.  His time at the NMJC Open two weeks ago was 24:08.60.
 
Jose Martinez (24:35.04), Hassan Abdi (24:49.17), and Kelvin Keter (24:58.68) finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
 
Martinez ran 10 seconds faster this week while Keter dramatically improved by 37 seconds at the Region 5 Championships.  Abdi stayed consistent running three seconds slower.
 
Finishing in ninth, sophomore Colton Hollis (25:29.23) also posted a 10 second improvement compared to the NMJC Open.
 
The Texans finished with 22 points to outpace fourth-ranked El Paso CC by 11.
 

Region 5 Men's Top 10 Individuals
1   Antibahs Kibiwott (South Plains)   23:49.00
2   George Yator (El Paso)   24:19.65
3   Jose Martinez (South Plains) 24:35.04
4   Hassan Abdi (South Plains)  24:49.17
5   Kelvin Keter (South Plains)   24:58.68
6   Gerardo Escapita (El Paso)   25:24.18
7   Ricardo De Santiago (El Paso)   25:24.45
8   Eli Kosgei (El Paso)   25:24.70
9   Colton Hollis (South Plains)   25:29.23
10  Marco Perez (El Paso)   25:44.19