Kipkemboi takes second in men's 5K

ABILENE, Texas — Eastern New Mexico University junior Kelvin Kipkemboi placed second with a time of 24 minutes, 56.7 seconds over eight kilometers on Saturday, helping the Greyhounds to a fifth-place team finish in Abilene Christian’s Naimadu Classic cross country event.

Meantime, the ENMU women put four runners in the top 20 over a 6.2-kilometer event to come in third with 78 points.

Abilene Christian dominated both divisions, winning with 35 points to 73 for Texas-Permian Basin on the men’s side and posting a near-perfect score of 18 to Baylor’s 48 in women’s competition.

UTPB’s Erik Flores beat out Kipkemboi to win the men’s race in 24:47.6. ENMU sophomore Japhet Toroitich was 11th in 26:06.4.

Senior Aminata Kenyawani led the Hounds on the women’s side, placing seventh in 23:19.6, while teammates Dorcas Kosgei, Neri Getraide and Marta Pascoa came in 13th, 16th and 20th, respectively.

ACU’s Irene Rono took individual honors with a time of 21:52.1. The Wildcats, former Lone Star Conference members now competing in the Division I Southland Conference, earned the top four finishes and six of the top nine.

ENMU runners return to action on Oct. 2 in the University of Arkansas’ Chili Pepper Invitational at Fayetteville, Ark.

Roadrunners turn back ENMU — At Denver, Metro State scored twice in a span of 17 seconds midway through the second half to break a tie and notch a 3-1 women’s soccer victory over ENMU on Sunday.

Senior forward/midfielder Katey Stice tied the score 1-1 for the Hounds (2-3) less than three minutes into the second half when she punched in a rebound of a shot by teammate Salena Casias.

About 15 minutes later, Roadrunners junior midfielder Miriam Caballero broke the tie with her first career goal. She controlled the ball from the midfield and slipped a shot past ENMU keeper Whitney Dockweiler from the top of the box at the 61:06 mark to put the Roadrunners (3-0-2) in front for good.

It didn’t take long for Metro State to get insurance, with junior forward Katy Coats finding the back of the net seconds later.

Stice’s tally was her team-leading third of the season and pulled ENMU even in a match which, for the most part, was dominated by the Roadrunners. They outshot the Hounds 11-3 on goal and had a 12-0 advantage in corner kicks.

The contest completed a season-opening run of five matches against Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams for the Hounds. They begin Lone Star Conference action today in a noon matchup against Texas Woman’s at Greyhound Stadium.

Gannon moves up in kills — Senior outside hitter Jasmine Gannon moved into the top five all-time in the ENMU record books during ENMU’s 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 LSC volleyball loss at 25th-ranked Texas-Tyler on Saturday.

Gannon, a Texico High graduate, recorded team bests of eight kills and 13 digs for ENMU. The former moved her career kills total at the school to 983.

ENMU hosted non-league rival New Mexico Highlands on Tuesday at Greyhound Arena. The Hounds return to LSC action on this weekend, also at home, welcoming Western New Mexico for a 6 p.m. contest on Friday and Texas-Permian Basin at noon on Saturday.