Sept. 16, 2003
DALLAS - Missouri sophomore Valerie Lauver and Oklahoma senior Silverus Kimeli have been named the Big 12 Cross Country Runners of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
Lauver (Allen, Texas) finished second at the Bradley Open in Peoria, Ill., last Friday. The Allen, Texas, native clocked 17:38 in the 5k race. Lauver was two seconds behind Marquette's Heidi Lindeman and led the Tigers to a victory in the 14-team race. Lauver now has four top five finishes in her eight-meet career and six top 10 finishes including an eighth place finish in last year's NCAA Midwest Regional Championship where Lauver was named All-Region. She joins teammate Amanda Bales who earned Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Week honors last week.
Kimeli won the UNT Invitational at Denton, Texas. The Eldoret, Kenya, senior claimed the 8k title with a time of 24:59. Kimeli was one of six Sooner runners to finish in the top 10 at the race. He helped lead OU to its first team victory in a meet since September, 1998, and the first Sooner man to win an individual title in the same time. Kimeli's time is the fastest for a Sooner runner in more than three years at that distance. He is also the first Sooner to earn Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Week in the eight-year history of the conference.
Big 12 Cross Country Runner(s) of the Week Female Sept. 9 Amanda Bales, Missouri Sept. 16 Valerie Lauver, MissouriMale Sept. 9 Benson Cheserek, Texas Tech Sept. 16 Silverus Kimeli, Oklahoma
This Week in Big 12 Cross Country Saturday, September 20 Kansas State, Nebraska at Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational (NU hosts, Lincoln, Neb.) Oklahoma State at Missouri Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo.) Texas (women), Texas A&M at Texas A&M Invitational (A&M hosts, College Station, Texas)