Cross Country Departs for Big 12 Championships

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will depart for Waco Friday for the Big 12 Championships. The Red Raider teams have been increasingly strong as the fall has progressed, making for excitement amongst the group heading into postseason racing.

"It's going to be tight, so whoever wins it's going to be close," said head coach Jon Murray. "It's exciting to see what role we can play to determine those results. And I think we'll factor into those results because we have some pretty good people up front."

The women's group has been especially exciting up front this season. Led by Nokthula Dlamini and Seselia Dala, the Lady Raiders are poised to improve on their seventh-place finish from last year – especially if they can close the gap between the front two and the remaining scorers.

The men, who finished sixth last season, are predicted to be led by graduate transfer Takieddine Hedeilli. The runner from Algeria placed third overall at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational in October. It was his first appearance as a Red Raider, as he was held out of the season's first few meets after competing internationally in Europe over the summer.

Following Hedeilli will be Cornelius Kiprotich, who has been stronger each week for Tech. Kiprotich ran a 37-second PR at Texas A&M, finishing in 24:26.2 to place 26^th. Nathan Gift has been stellar in his senior campaign, and he will enter the postseason with an 8k PR as well after a strong race at A&M.

The men's championship 8k will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will be followed by the women's 6k at 11 a.m. It will be streamed on ESPN+.

Cross Country Departs for Big 12 Championships

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Players Mentioned

Seselia Dala

Nathan Gift

Takieddine Hedeilli

Cornelius Kiprotich

Texas Tech University Athletics