Mathenge to Compete in NCAA Championships
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin men’s runner Charles Mathenge will compete in the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, seeking to become the first SFA distance runner to be named All-American in cross country. He will try to do so at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., with the men’s 10K competition beginning at 1:00 p.m. The race will be streamed live at www.NCAA.com with live results being compiled at branchsportstech.com.
Mathenge has broken school records in each of his last two collegiate races. He shattered the school’s 8K record at the Southland Conference Championships on Nov. 3 in Natchitoches, La. with a time of 23:42 en route to a runner-up finish and First Team All-Conference honors.
In the NCAA South Central Regional meet on Friday, Nov. 14, Mathenge once again posted the best time in school history, this time at the 10,000-meter distance. The Ol Kalou, Kenya native tackled Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark. in 29:58 – approximately a 4:50 mile pace – to break his second school record in as many races and clinch an automatic berth in the field at the NCAA Championships.
Mathenge’s seventh place finish in the regional meet at the University of Arkansas last week gave him the third of four individual automatic qualifying spots to Nationals – SFA’s first such representative since Xavier Rodriguez and Lauren Smith competed at the national level in 2012. Before that duo raced at the event, SFA hadn’t been represented since 2004. This year’s trip marks just the eighth time SFA has sent an athlete to the national meet.
The best finish for an SFA runner at the national meet is Mike Thompson’s 35th-place finish in 2003, although he wasn’t named All-American. Mathenge will need to finish in the top 40 on Saturday afternoon to receive the coveted honor.
More than 250 of the best cross country athletes in the country will run on the men’s side, as 31 schools with seven runners on each team and 38 additional individuals qualified at the Division I level.
“Charles is ready for National Championships,” said head coach Cody Clark. “He’s super excited. He’s been dreaming about this and thinking about this since last year. I’m extremely happy for him and he’s ready to see if he can become an All-American.”
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