BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Freshman Clinton Kipruto continued his strong start to the season Friday morning, placing fifth overall to lead Norfolk State to an 11th-place team finish in the Men's College Gold 8K at the Paul Short Run presented by ASICS at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
Kipruto crossed the line in 24:10.4, finishing just 10.6 seconds behind individual champion Nick Sloff of Penn State. The Norfolk State freshman earned five team points and finished ahead of more than 300 runners in one of the nation's largest collegiate cross country fields.
Kipruto established himself near the front immediately, passing the opening mile in second place at 4:43.0. After sitting sixth at the two-mile mark in 9:49.1, he surged to the front of the field during the third mile, taking over first place at 14:39.4. Kipruto remained in the lead through four miles, reaching the checkpoint in 19:23.0, before ultimately finishing fifth.
Norfolk State also started aggressively as a group. The Spartans stood third in the team standings after the opening mile with 158 points, led by Kipruto in second and sophomore Daniel Mathenge in sixth. NSU sat fifth through two miles, seventh at three miles and ninth after four miles before finishing 11th overall.
Junior Ian Kimutai followed as Norfolk State's second finisher, placing 42nd overall in 24:51.7. Kimutai opened in 30th at the first mile with a 4:46.7 split before moving as high as 21st at two miles. He passed three miles in 14:44.8 and four miles in 19:45.2 before closing as the Spartans' No. 2 runner.
Junior Mohammed Mrahi crossed next for Norfolk State, finishing 62nd overall and scoring 60 team points with a time of 25:09.0. Mrahi made one of the Spartans' strongest mid-race moves, improving from 81st overall at two miles to 63rd at three miles before reaching the four-mile marker in 20:05.6.
Mathenge finished 84th overall and scored 82 points in 25:25.6. He opened the race among the leaders, sitting sixth after the first mile with a 4:44.3 split. Sophomore Jemmel Green closed out Norfolk State's scoring group, placing 119th overall and scoring 116 points in 25:43.5.
The Spartans' five scoring runners averaged 25:04.0 over the 8K course, combining for a total time of 2:05:19.9. Just 1:33.2 separated Kipruto from Green across Norfolk State's scoring five.
Junior Mathew Kipkoech rounded out Norfolk State's finishers, placing 258th in 27:11.1. He crossed the opening mile in 4:59.3 and reached four miles in 21:12.3.
Sophomore Drogba Nimporembere and junior Lewis Too did not finish the race. Too opened inside Norfolk State's scoring group, sitting 57th overall after one mile in 4:50.4 and 76th at two miles in 10:05.9. Nimporembere reached the four-mile checkpoint before being recorded as a non-finisher.
Norfolk State totaled 305 points to place 11th in the team standings. The Spartans finished behind Wingate (58), Penn State (129), Pittsburgh (151), Navy (193), Penn (222), Stony Brook (227), Army West Point (243), Liberty (269), Charleston (W.V.) (280) and Charleston Southern (292).
Wingate captured the team title with 58 points, placing five scoring runners inside the top 19. Penn State finished second with 129 points, while Pittsburgh rounded out the top three with 151.
Norfolk State Results — Men's College Gold 8K
Team Scoring — Top 11
- Wingate — 58
- Penn State — 129
- Pittsburgh — 151
- Navy — 193
- Penn — 222
- Stony Brook — 227
- Army West Point — 243
- Liberty — 269
- Charleston (W.V.) — 280
- Charleston Southern — 292
- Norfolk State — 305
UP NEXT
The Spartans return to Earlysville, Va., for the Panorama Farms Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16.
