Texas Tech Cross Country Set for Big 12 Championships
October 30, 2015 | Cross Country
Junior Jocelyn Caro leads the Red Raiders with the team's top time in the 6K this season at 20:01.2.
Oct. 30, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech cross country heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the 2015 Big 12 Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course.
The conference meet begins with the men's 8K at 10 a.m., while the women's 6K is slated to follow at 11 a.m.
The last time the Big 12 Championships were held in Stillwater, the women's squad captured the team title, their third-straight championship. Rose Tanui paced to the Big 12 individual crown and Newcomer of the Year honors behind a time of 20:04.34. Her time ranks seventh all-time among Texas Tech performances at the Big 12 meet.
Fast-forward to 2015, junior Jocelyn Caro leads this year's squad, posting a personal-best of 20:01.2 at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, California, on Oct. 17. Nearing the sub-20 mark, if Caro accomplishes the feat at the conference meet on Saturday, she would be the first Red Raider since Caroline Jepleting's 2011 title race (19:30.3) to do so.
Tanui and Jepleting have won two of Tech's five Big 12 individual championships on the women's side. The other three came from Sally Kipyego, as she dominated the women's field from 2006 to 2008.
This year's men's team has featured two leaders in the 8K. At the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 3, sophomore Miguel Bautista recorded the team's top time at 24:29.53. Two weeks later at the Bronco Invitational, sophomore Evans Tuitoek paced the team-lead to a mark of 24:18.3.
The Texas Tech men's team has two individual conference titles, claimed by Kennedy Kithuka in 2012 and 2013. His time of 22:16.0 is the fastest by a Red Raider ever at the conference meet. Along with his two Big 12 titles, Kithuka racked up seven runner of the week accolades during his time at Tech.
Since 2006, a Red Raider has won the men's or women's individual title seven out of nine years. This year's squads look to make it eight out of 10 when they hit the OSU cross country course on Saturday morning.
Players Mentioned
