Horned Frog Women Finish Fourth, Men Take 20th, at Cowboy Jamboree

Mary Kinyanjui

Mary Kinyanjui and Katrina Zielinski recorded top 10 finishes in the battle for the individual crown, leading the TCU women to a fourth place finish among 19 teams competing at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree today. The TCU men placed 20th among 25 teams.

Kinyanjui, a junior from Kiambu, Kenya, covered the 6K course in 21:15 to place fourth overall, while Zielinski, a sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas, crossed the finish line in 21:32 to take ninth place in the individual competition. The TCU women tallied 135 points to finish fourth behind Texas Tech (93), Georgia (105) and Southwest Missouri State (129).

"Mary and Katrina ran very well," said TCU cross country coach Derek Koonts. "We need our freshmen to step it up and compete for us to accomplish the goals we want to as a team. We're capable of doing better, but we need some people to take it to another level."

Alayne Thompson, the 2002 Conference USA Freshman of the Year who has been hampered by foot injuries during the early fall season, competed unattached and placed 40th overall with a time of 22:38.

On the men's side, Jackson Langat, competing for the first time this fall, was TCU's top finisher, placing 50th overall. He covered the 8K course in 25:42. The men's squad totaled 521 points to finish 20th. Georgia captured the team title with 85 points.

"This is traditionally one of the best meets in the country and the competition, as expected, was very strong," said Koonts. "I thought Jackson looked a little rusty, but it's a starting point for him. The rest of the men's team actually ran quite well. Several of our runners had personal bests. We just need to keep improving."

The Horned Frog distance runners will be off until they compete again in two weeks at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas on October 18.