11/21/05–
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TONNY OKELLO EARNS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
AT THE NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
CONTACT:
Dwayne Gatlin
NCAA
Championship Results
TERRE
HAUTE, Ind. - For the second consecutive year, Jaguar Tonny
Okello earned All-American honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Despite the brutally cold weather, the NCAA South Region champion
Okello finished 25th, running a time of 30:08 for the 10K race.
Teammate and Sun Belt Conference champion, Vincent Rono, finished
138th out of the 253 competitors with a time of 31:20. Simon Bairu
of Wisconsin won the individual title for the second year in a row
in a time of 29:15. Bairu and the Badgers also captured the team
title.
"It was
a day for cold weather runners," assistant cross country coach
Ron Davis said, "It's unfortunate, but all the runners had
to deal with the cold and Tonny and Vincent did as well as they
could, given the situation."
Okello becomes the first runner from the University of South Alabama
to earn All-American honors in successive years. The Lira, Uganda
native finished 23rd at last year's championship meet when he joined
Jeff Campell (1991) and the late David Kimani (1999) as Jaguar All-Americans.
"I had
a hard time breathing in the cold air," said Okello, "With
about two kilometers to go, I tried to make a move, but I couldn't."
Rono, who was
fifth at the South Regional, battled sickness along with the inclimate
weather.
"I've been
sick all week and I am not used to this kind of cold weather,"
said Rono, "But I am happy for Tonny and what he was able to
accomplish."
Okello and Rono
will rest up and prepare for the upcoming indoor track season. The
2006 campaign kicks off at the Middle Tennessee State Invitational,
Saturday, January 21.
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