Rend Lake College

11/14/2009

WARRIORS BRING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BACK HOME!

The 2009 NJCAA Men's Cross Country National Champions are the Rend Lake College Warriors, FROM LEFT, Matthew Kotut, Jacob Swearingen, Coach Brent McLain, Lewi Manirumva, individual champion Stephen Sambu and Dey Tuach. CLICK HERE for a larger image.

The Rend Lake College Lady Warriors destroyed their 13th spot on the polls by coming in seventh at the NJCAA Cross Country National Championships today in Peoria. They are, FROM LEFT, Coach Eric Alberter, Julia Sambu, Sarah Kimaiyo, Roshane Boreland, Shantaia Carter, Nikki Smith and Kali Bonner. Not pictured: Courtney Orange. CLICK HERE for a larger image.

UPDATE: Team Result - Rend Lake 1 11 13 17 24 (37) = 66

Stephen Sambu 1st Place National Champion/All-American (Eldoret, Kenya - 24:00)

Dey Tuach 11th Place All-American (Thornton, Colo. - 25:21)

Matthew Kotut 13th Place All-American (Eldoret, Kenya - 25:25)

Jacob Swearingen 17th Place (Potosi, Mo. - 25:47)

Lewi Manirumva 24th Place (Cedar Rapids, Iowa - 26:18)

Scott Speare 37th Place (St. Charles, IL - 26:52) Pictured in photo right of coach McLain

PEORIA, Ill. - The Rend Lake College Warriors cross country team brought the national championship back to RLC today in Peoria while the women finished seventh and Stephen Sambu took the individual crown in the men's race.

It was about as close as it could have been. The Warriors beat Paradise Valley by only two points, grabbing the fifth cross country title for RLC and the second at the division I level. Sambu finished first in 24 minutes flat, beating Henry Lelei of Central Arizona by 21 seconds and Isaiah Samoei of Iowa Western by 29 seconds. RLC's Dey Tuach took 11th, Matthew Kotut came in 13th, Jacob Swearingen was 17th and Lewi Manirumva came in 24th for a team score of 66. Paradise Valley runners finished fourth, 12th, 15th, 18th and 19th. Garden City Community College came in third with 101 points.

Sambu said everything went according to plan. He came in ranked #1 and RLC came in ranked #1.

"It was a nice race," the soft-spoken champ said.

The Lady Warriors destroyed their 13th spot on the polls by finishing 7th. It was Eric Alberter's coaching debut at the national championship.

"We are really excited," he said. "Going in , we knew we had some work to do. We knew what we had to do. We came up with a race plan and the girls exeicuted it to perfection. You can't ask for much more than that."

He said the team kept believing throughout the season, and kept looking to Julia Sambu for leadership.

"They deserve this," Alberter said. "[Julia Sambu] was out there working hard every day and her success really filtered down to the other runners."

Sambu finished sixth in 18:16, followed by Sara Kimaiyo in 15th, Nikki Smith and Kali Bonner in 64th and 67th, and Courtney Orange in 75th.

" Both teams had such a great day," said RLC Head Coach Brent McLain. "We couldn't ask for anything better."