Guilford’s Derrick Kosgei going to NCAA’s in Cross Country

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College junior Derrick Kosgei earned the
school’s first at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Cross Country
Championships Sunday. Kosgei placed fifth at Saturday’s South/Southeast
Regional Championship meet in Memphis, Tenn., to earn one of seven at-large
berths in the 280-runner field.

The Division III men’s and women’s national championships will be held
Saturday (11/21) on the J. Max Championship Cross Country Course in Waverly,
Iowa. Wartburg College serves as the host. Kosgei will compete in the men’s
eight-kilometer race that begins at 11:00 a.m. (Central Time).

Kosgei placed fifth in the 156-man regional meet in 25 minutes, 20 seconds,
the second-fastest eight-kilometer time in school history. Despite cold and
rainy conditions, he led the race up until the final 1,000 meters when race
winner Sean Whitson of Virginia Wesleyan College led a charge to overtake
Kosgei and deny him his fourth first-place finish of the season.

Guilford freshman Chad Norton ran a personal-best 26:00 and took 12th place
at the meet, which helped the Quakers finish a school-record seventh among
22 scoring teams. Five of six Quakers’ runners ran personal-best times on
the eight-kilometer course. Coach Heidi Pinkerton’s harriers entered the
meet ranked eighth in the latest United States Track & Field/Cross Country
Coaches’ Association regional rankings.

Lynchburg College, which finished one spot ahead of Guilford Oct. 30 to win
the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Cross Country title, captured first
place at Saturday’s regional meet. Centre College placed second and joined
Lynchburg as the region’s two team representatives to the NCAA
Championships.

Guilford freshman Anne Mogavero ran the second-fastest six-kilometer time in
school history (25:07) in the women’s regional championship race. She placed
89th among 191 runners, seven spots ahead of teammate Taylor Stokes, who ran
a 25:16. With four runners competing, Guilford did not field a team score.

Meet host Rhodes College won the women’s race with 50 points, four ahead of
second-place Emory University.