10/01/05– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM TAKES 19TH, WOMEN 24TH AT NOTRE DAME INVITATIONAL
CONTACT: Dwayne Gatlin

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - In what looks to be a preview to the 2005 NCAA Cross Country Championships, South Alabama's Vincent Rono and Tonny Okello gained national recognition by finishing in the top five at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday. Rono (23:30) tied for second place with Obed Mutanya of the eighth-ranked Arizona Wildcats and Okello (23:33) placed fourth, ahead of the 2004 NCAA Championships' third place finisher, Robert Cheseret, also of Arizona. Chris Solinsky of No. 1 ranked Wisconsin won the elite Blue Division Men's 8K race with a time of 23:21.

As a team, the Jaguars finished 19th out of the 25 teams that competed. Placing third for South Alabama was Harry Larubi, who clocked in at 25:55. He finished 132nd in the 200 man field comprised of several All-Americans and 10 of the top 30 men's teams in the nation according to the MONDO/USCCCA poll. Stephen Larubi (27:16), Jeremiah Carter (30:45) and Anthony Murphy (31:13) rounded out the finishes for the Jags.

"I am very pleased with Rono and Okello's performances," said South Alabama cross country head coach Lee Evans.

The men's race was incredibly fast, as the front pack led the race through a blistering first mile in 4:25 and last runner in the field came through in 5:07. Rono and Okello were the top finishers from the South Region, which includes regionally ranked No.1 Florida St., No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Alabama and No. 13 Miami, all of whom sent teams to the Notre Dame Invitational.

"This was a good competition because it was like running at the Nationals," 2004 All-American Tonny Okello said of the race. Okello finished 23rd at last year's NCAA Championships.

"This was probably Tonny's best performance since coming to South Alabama and Vincent is still learning how to run cross country," said South Alabama assistant cross country coach Ron Davis.

Prior to transfering to USA, Rono did not participate in cross country. His only distance running experience was running the 800m and 1500m on the track.

"This was real test for me, running against the top runners in the nation," said Rono, "It gives me confidence to know I can run well against these other athletes."

The Lady Jags continued to gain valuable experience against tough competition. The women's cross country team finished 24th in the Gold Division race. Michigan took home the women's title with a dominant performance, finishing 113 points ahead of second place Edinboro, while Sun Belt Conference opponent, Florida International, finished 19th.

Sophomore Cassandra Perkins continued her stellar season, once again pacing the Lady Jags. Her time of 20:23 marks her second under 21 minute performance this year, a feat she was unable to do during her freshman campaign at the 5K distance. She placed 141st overall.

Junior Ajoke Odumosu (20:31) and senior Yvonne Li (20:53) finished second and third, respectively for South Alabama. Junior Lauren Lemon placed fourth among USA runners with a time of 21:20.

Freshmen Lindsey White (21:37) and Jessica Miller (21:42) also had strong performances along with sophomore Melissa Womble, who finished the 5K in 22:57.

"The ladies performed very well against this competition," said Evans, "They are inexperienced at running at this high level, but I am happy with what they were able to accomplish."

The Jaguars face another challenging test Saturday, Oct. 8 at the Auburn Invitational.