Led by freshman Isaac Ndirangu of Rift Valley, Kenya, the men took first place in the Southern Miss Invitational. The women finished fourth in the competition behind senior Rebecca Black.

Running hard Ndirangu blazed the trail for the competition and won the gold medal with a time of 16:50.12. Right behind him in the 5k race Keter clocked in at 16:51.98. Each of these runners was competing in his first ever-collegiate event.

Several more freshmen showed off their skills for the Warhawks including Brandon McDonald with a time of 17:03.56 and a fourth place finish, John Neal at 17:12.39 and fifth place, and Jacob Holland at 17:13.53 and sixth.

Distance coach Josh Hayman felt pleased with the efforts of the men noting the difficulty of the terrain.

“The men ran great as a group and ran our race. The conditions, with the heat and rough terrain, certainly did not make for fast times”, said Hayman.

On the women’s side Dark led the way with a time of 22:04.79 to notch a 12 place finish. Sophomore Josie Wood trailed with a time of 23:32.08 coming in 17 and junior Brittany Garrison followed at 23:35.31 and 18.

Coach Hayman felt the women raced hard, but have a lot of room to grow and improve as a group.

“The women worked very hard as a unit and know we are capable of more. Overall, we have room to improve and we certainly will,” Hayman said.

The Warhawks will travel to Ruston to compete in the Mook Invitational on Sept. 19.