Cross Nation Dominates Angel Mounds Invitational – College of Cincinnati Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Cincinnati men’s and women’s cross country teams more than took care of business at the Angel Mounds Invitational, sweeping both heats on Friday morning.

The Cincinnati men had three top-10 finishers, including champion Nickson Kogei, while the women had each of the top-three performers, including Ann Lemirisho, who won by 26 seconds. Angel Mounds will also be the site of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

Kogei’s second-straight event championship featured a 23:36.75 mark, and both were in the 8K. Friday’s time was also a course record. The Bearcats occupied as many as the top four spots at one point, with Tiger Bartlett also in first at the 1k and 3.15k checkpoints.  

On the women’s side, Claire Curtsinger and Abby Sewell nabbed second and third place. Gwen Stare was fifth on the squad and 19th overall in her season debut.

“We came here to gain some valuable insight about the regional course,” head coach Lucas Rothenberger said. “From my perspective, I think it was productive. The goal was to practice running race rhythm on the exact course we will be racing on a month from now. We definitely focused on some more specific process-oriented tasks that we believe are going to be necessary for us to reach our goals. Both the men and women did a good job executing what we asked out of them, and I feel like we have good momentum heading into the postseason. I am excited to watch both groups compete in two weeks at Big 12s.”

Cincinnati was also first on the men’s and women’s side at the season-opening RedHawk Rumble.

The Bearcats now turn their attention to the Big 12 Championships in two weeks in Lawrence, Kansas on Oct. 31.