NCAA Championships Results
MADISON, WIS. – Running through 30-degree weather with snow on the ground, Wichita State sophomore Winny Koskei wrapped up her postseason success, finishing 35th at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Wisconsin's Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course to earn All-America honors on Saturday afternoon. SMU’s Svenja Ojstersek and Hannah Miller joined Koskei in the women’s 6k race, while Tulsa’s men’s team, Cincinnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld and Tulane’s Emmanuel Rotich trekked the snowy conditions in the men’s 10k meet.
Koskei becomes The American’s third women’s cross country runner to earn All-America honors and the first since 2015, when Temple’s Blanca Fernandez placed 29th in the national race. Koskei’s finish is tied for the second-best in conference history, as UConn’s Lauren Sara also placed 35th in the NCAA Championship during the 2014 season.
Koskei Clinches a top-40 Finish
Koskei, the 2018 American individual champion, moved up 21 spots over the final 4,000 meters of the course, clocking a time of 20:32.05 for her top-40 finish. Koskei earned an automatic bid the NCAA Championship following a third-place performance at the Midwest Regional race. She became the first Shocker to reach the national meet since 2012. Koskei is also The American’s outdoor track and field 5,000 and 10,000-meter champion.
Miller & Ojstersek Represent the Mustangs
Two SMU runners represented The American in the national race. Competing in her first NCAA Cross Country Championship, Ojstersek finished 184th (21:44.6). Miller, who won the 2017 American title, ran in her third-straight NCAA Championship, finishing 195th (21:50.1). The two All-Region runners wrapped up another strong season for the Mustangs, which included two team race titles, seven athletes finishing first or second and three All-Conference and All-Region performers. Miller concludes her 2018 campaign after winning two races on the season and finished in the top 10 in each of her first six races. She was named the conference’s Athlete of the Week four times this year. Ojstersek was the league’s championship runner-up and one of the top two Mustang finishers in every race on the season.
Rotich Makes His Third-Straight Appearance
After making his third-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship race, Rotich, the two-time American Athletic Conference and South Central Regional champion, ended his cross country career with a 155th place finish. Rotich crossed the finish line with a time of 31:05.31. He holds Tulane’s records in 8K and 10K races. Rotich finished fourth overall in the South Central Regional to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Bienenfeld Leads The American Men
Bienenfeld made his national meet debut and the first NCAA Championship appearance for a Cincinnati runner since 2011, as he finished 111th overall to lead all American Athletic Conference men competing in the race. He ran the 10k course in a personal-best time of 30:42.8 and rose 91 places over the final 8,000 meters. He was the 12th-place finisher among a stacked Great Lakes Regional on the way to earning an at-large bid to the national race. Bienenfeld finished third overall at The American Championship.
Tulsa’s Men’s Team Competes in 9th NCAA Championship
Earning a trip to the NCAA Championship for the past nine of 12 seasons, Tulsa’s men’s team finished 30th with All-Conference runner Peter Lynch leading the Golden Hurricane. Lynch ran the course in 30:47.1 for a 114th-place finish. Tulsa placed third in the Midwest Regional for a second-consecutive year on the way to earning an at-large bid to the national race. The Golden Hurricane remain the only men’s cross country team in conference history to compete in the national meet and won its fifth-straight American Athletic Conference title this season.