By Steve Holt, Sports Writer
On Oct. 1, Nicodemus Naimadu will be turned loose.
The sophomore cross country runner from Kenya will have his first opportunity of many to obliterate the competition, a habit he formed last cross country season and in the spring during track and field season.
Head cross country coach Derek Hood will take six men, whose team is ranked second in the nation, and three women to the Great American Cross Country Festival in Cary, N.C., where he expects the defending Division II individual national champion to put on a show.
“We’re going to turn Nicodemus loose pretty much this whole season with the opportunity to win races, not necessarily to lead the pack or be a pack runner,” Hood said of his star runner, who is expected to be even better than last season.
Joining Naimadu on the six-man roster will be standout freshmen Philip Birgen, Serge Gasore and Alberic Nkurunziza, as well as seniors Lucky Hadebe and Martin O’Kello. ACU will be one of the smaller schools in the men’s race, which will include Division I powerhouses such as Clemson, Duke, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Wake Forest, and William & Mary.
“It’ll be a big test for our guys, and bring some exposure to our program,” Hood said. “It’s a luxury to have six quality runners, so if one of them has a bad day, another can step up.”
Hood said his goal for the men is to finish within a minute to a minute and a half of each other in the eight-kilometer race. If his athletes do that, the team should compete well alongside the stiff competition.
Three Wildcat women also will compete Saturday in a five-kilometer race: seniors Trina Cox and Adeh Mwamba, and sophomore Olha Kryv’yak. The women’s race will include the same Division I competition as the men’s race, plus Brigham Young University.
Hood said he expects the trio to run this race aggressively on a hilly and winding course-something to which the Wildcat runners are not necessarily accustomed-after barely being pushed at the ACU Classic September 9.
“This will be a chance to run with a fast group,” Hood said. “They’ll have to be pretty aggressive. At this course, they’re going to have to think and be focused throughout the entire race.”
The men’s Nike Race of Champions will begin at 9:55 a.m. EST, and the women’s race will begin at 10:55 a.m. Hood expects good things out of both teams.
“It’ll be a time to shine,” he said.
