Stephen F. Austin
NCAA National Championships
Mathenge Caps 2015 Season at Nationals
11/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park • Louisville, Kentucky
10k Results: Charles Mathenge – 189th of 252 runners
Complete Results
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stephen F. Austin cross country runner Charles Mathenge put an exclamation point on another great season on Saturday afternoon, representing the Lumberjacks in the NCAA National Championships at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville.
The junior from Ol Kalou, Kenya placed 189th out of 252 of the nation’s best runners in the men’s 10,000-meter championship race. He recorded a time of 31:53.6.
Mathenge got off to a great start, sitting 32nd after 2,000 meters. He couldn’t keep the pace though, slipping to 107th at the 5,200m checkpoint. At 8,000m, he was clocked at 24:55.3 and pushed hard until the end.
“Charles really went for it at the start of today’s race,” said cross country coach Cody Clark. “He was in a good position early on but it was probably too good of a position. He improved on his performance from last year though and I’m proud of how he competed. It was another terrific season for him.”
With his qualification for the 2015 national meet, Mathenge became the first Lumberjack to earn a spot in field twice during his collegiate career. He will have the opportunity to make it three straight trips to the NCAAs during his senior season in 2016.
Mathenge will now gear up for the 2016 indoor track and field season that is set to begin in early January. He is the reigning Southland Conference Champion in the men’s 5,000m.
-SFA-
