Two TCU Runners Earn Trip to NCAA Nationals

Mary Kinyanjui

Mary Kinyanjui and Ami Butler finished first and third at the South Central Regional Meet on Saturday morning, leading the TCU women to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. Their top-three performances earned them a trip to the NCAA national cross country championships, which will be held in Waterloo, Iowa on Monday, November 24.

Kinyanjui, a junior from Kiambu, Kenya who also won the Conference USA title two weeks ago, completed the 6K course in 20:44. SMU's Karin van Rooyen was second in 20:49, while Butler, a senior from Mabank, Texas, was third in 20:57.

"I can't say enough about Mary and Ami," said TCU coach Derek Koonts. "They showed our young runners how to do things and how to represent the school. Mary looked extremely strong throughout the race and Ami is as tough as nails. I'm very proud of their effort."

The women's squad, which entered the meet hoping to finish in the top two and earn TCU's first trip ever to the nationals, fell short, placing fourth with 86 points. The Texas women won the team title with 66 points, edging pre-race favorite Baylor (68) and Arkansas (70).

Freshman Calandra Stewart was TCU's third finisher, covering the course in 21:37 to finish 13th overall, earning all-region honors. Katrina Zielinski was 27th (22:16), Heather Isbell was 50th (23:01), McKale Davis was 63rd (23:33) and Pattie Parker was 78th (24:01).

"Calandra really ran hard and to finish in the top 15 as a freshman is quite an accomplishment," said Koonts. "Zielinski was sick all week, which affected her today. It was a disappointing finish for her personally, but she competed hard. We learned today that no matter how well you run at the front of the race, it's still a team sport and you have to have your fourth through seventh runners step up."

On the men's side, the Horned Frogs placed 15th out of 16 teams, totaling 373 points. Arkansas won the meet with 54 points. Jackson Langat was TCU's top finisher, placing 28th overall. He covered the 10K distance in 32:00.

"On the men's side, we actually ran much better from one to five than we did at the conference meet," said Koonts. "We're moving in the right direction with this young group of runners. We made progress and got better throughout the season, which is all you can ask."

Kinyanjui and Butler will become just the second and third female cross country runners from TCU to compete at the NCAA Championships, joining former distance standout Glady's Keitany.