Elkhart Times

Leafs move up throughout race to finish in 22nd, Kemboi named All-American

After a conservative start for the first third of the race, the Goshen men's cross country team finished with a 22nd-place finish at the NAIA National Championship on Friday morning at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. This was the fourth consecutive year the team has run at the national meet, and they have placed in the top 25 all four times. Nelson Kemboi earned a spot as an All-American for the third straight year.
 
The Maple Leafs were hanging around the 32nd or 33rd spot a quarter into it. Kemboi was in 184th place 2.17 kilometers into the race, and Drew Hogan and Liam Elias weren't far off in 193rd and 194th. Despite the slow start, it was all a part of the strategy.
 
"The course can run fast if you're patient and remain aggressive late," shared head coach Rustin Nyce after the race. "That was our plan, to move up throughout."
 
At the halfway point, Goshen was in 26th place – a six-position improvement from where they were 1,000 meters earlier. They continued to gain spots while other runners were losing steam, moving up to 22nd place at the 6,000-meter mark, where they would stay until the end of the race.
 
Kemboi particularly gained on opponents until the end of the race. In the span of 4.83 kilometers, he improved 146 spots. Kemboi was named an All-American again after a 32nd-place finish in the 2020 race (which was run in April 2021) and a 21st-place finish in 2021. He finished 39th in this race.
 
Drew Hogan and Liam Elias improved at every checkpoint as the race went on. Hogan started in 209th place and finished in 104th. Elias began in 204th and ended in 109th. Kemboi, Hogan, and Elias all had season-best times. Elias notably had nearly an 18-second improvement from his best time this year at the Live in Lou Classic.
 
Anthony Roberts was the fourth finisher for the Leafs and came in 182nd. Jordan Garlinger rounded out the top five by coming in 210th. Jackson Steinmetz was 214th, and Kevin Liddell crossed the line in 256th. All the runners improved drastically from their initial spots – showing that all on the team used and executed the early conservative strategy well. From the first checkpoint at the 1.17-kilometer mark, the seven Goshen runners passed 342 competitors for the rest of the race.
 
In an upset, Dordt won the national championship – their first in program history. The Defenders were ranked third in the most recent poll with no first-place votes. Milligan, who finished as runner-up, was ranked first with 15 of the 18 first-place votes. The Leafs finished ahead of their expected 26th-place finish based on the poll. Two runner from Oklahoma City – Abraham Chelangam and Shimales Aabebe - finished 1-2 for the Stars.
 
"The guys have trained so hard and put themselves in a position to be successful," coach Nyce noted. "Finishing off strong was important for us. We felt like it was a way to honor Ezra." Ezra Kipruto was a member of the Goshen cross country team that passed away on October 22.
 
With a total time of 128:44.7 for the top five runners, the Leafs finished with their second-best top 1-5 total time in program history. The record was set earlier this season at the Live in Lou Classic when Kipruto, Kemboi, Hogan, Elias, and Steinmetz combined for a 127:26 time.
 
Crossroads League member Taylor won the women's race in dominant fashion – scoring 50 points while the second-place team had 177.
 
That ends the cross country season, with the indoor track and field season approaching fast. Goshen competes at the Notre Dame Blue and Gold Invite on December 2 and the Strive for Greatness Invitational at Indiana Tech on December 10. 

Original source can be found here.