VU Cross Country takes seventh at Half Marathon Championships

RICHMOND, Va. – The Vincennes University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams closed out their 2024 season Tuesday morning with a strong performance at the 2024 NJCAA Half Marathon Championships.

Both the VU men's and women's teams earned seventh place finishes as a team in the 13.1 mile race hosted at Dorey Park in Richmond, Va.

The day began with the women's race, which saw the Trailblazers again paced by freshman Sarra Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who's time of 1:32:10.2 placed her 27th overall.

Sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) was the second Trailblazer finisher, finishing close behind Belgacem with a time of 1:34:05.9 to take 32nd place overall.

Freshman Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) was the third VU scorer, posting a time of 1:39:46.9 to take 55th place overall.

The VU women's Half Marathon race was closed out by a strong finish by freshman Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) who finished with a time of 1:43:11.3 to take 70th overall.

"The half marathon went really well for both teams," VU Head Cross Country Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "The women were sitting in eighth place overall at the 5.5 and 7.75 mile mark of the race. Sarra went out a little too quick but managed to settle in and finish holding her position and not give up any places in the last half of the race."

"Adi maintained her position throughout the race and picked up some key places in the last three miles," Steigenga added. "One of the runners she passed from Amarillo College ended up being extremely important for the team score as we ended up only beating them by one point. Alexis ended up having her biggest impact over the second half of the race as she passed 22 scoring runners from 5.5 miles to the finish. Her performance was a huge difference maker for our team finishing seventh overall."

The Trailblazer men's team headed to the start line and began their race shortly after the women's race and were led by freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) who took home 16th place overall with a time of 1:08:44.1.

Freshman Kelvin Kipsang (Kapsabet, Kenya) and sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) were the next Vincennes finishers with Kipsang posting a time of 1:13:16.3 to take 37th place and Spence coming in at 1:14:00.9 to take 46th overall.

Sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) and freshman Jeremy Mendez (Velpen, Ind.) came in very close to end the race with Noel getting the upper hand with a time of 1:17:13.1 and Mendez finishing with a time of 1:17:44.6.

Sophomore Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) finished his season with a final time of 1:19:29.7 with fellow sophomore Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.) and freshman Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) posting times of 1:21:21.6 and 1:21:56.8 respectively.

The VU Half Marathon Championships were rounded out by sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) who posted a time of 1:22:32.6 and freshman Rylan Mullins (Greenwood, Ind.) who finished with a time of 1:33:23.7.

"The VU men went out conservatively in the first 5.5 miles of the race and were in 11th place," Steigenga said. "Finishing as our first runner, Anis moved up six scoring places in the second half of the race and set a new school record in the half marathon of 1:08:44. He broke 2014 Half Marathon All-American Robert Murphy's school record of 1:09:55 by over a minute."

"Kelvin moved up nine scoring places for the team in his first attempt at the distance and longest run of the season," Steigenga added. "Tanner moved up 20 scoring places in the second half of the race and beat his time last year by over 3.5 minutes."

"Like Alexis on the women's team, as the third runner, Tanner was the difference maker for the men, who matched the women's seventh place finish," Steigenga said. "Jeremy also ran a great race as our number five runner in his first half marathon."

Members of the Vincennes University Cross Country teams will return in the spring however as the Blazers will now shift their focus to the 2025 Indoor Track and Field season beginning in January.

"The half marathon was a great way for the team to end the season," Steigenga said. "All 14 of our runners finished the race and it was very encouraging to come away with a pair of seventh place finishes. We'll take a little break now and then start preparing for the Indoor Track season."

VINCENNES RESULTS

WOMEN'S RESULTS

VU (7th) – 79 points

Sarra Belgacem (27) – 1:32:10.2

Adi Fuller (32) – 1:34:05.9

Alexis Hale (55) – 1:39:46.9

Allie Black (70) – 1:43:11.3

MEN'S RESULTS

VU (7th) – 87 points

Anis Abdaoui (16) – 1:08:44.1

Kelvin Kipsang (37) – 1:13:16.3

Tanner Spence (46) – 1:14:00.9

Cody Noel (79) – 1:17:13.1

Jeremy Mendez (89) – 1:17:44.6

Caden Hostetler (106) – 1:19:29.7

Bryaun Manuel (118) – 1:21:21.6

Lane Connaway (122) – 1:21:56.8

Nathan Whitehead (128) – 1:22:32.6

Rylan Mullins (166) – 1:33:23.7