By Steve Holt, Sports Writer Glancing at the results of Saturday's Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., one might think the race took place somewhere in Africa. The top-10 finishers in the race hail from Africa. Eight are from Kenya, and one each from Uganda and Zambia. Onlookers lucky enough to be in Fayetteville on ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer While American teenagers haggled with stubborn parents to get a driver's license or attend the school dance, a 16-year-old named Nicodemus Naimadu trekked into the Kenyan bush to become a man. Before Naimadu and his peers would ever be able to marry, they would have to go through three months of training in tribal ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer For the second time in three weekends, the men's cross country team will have a shot at upsetting the Arkansas Razorbacks at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday. One factor that may serve as an obstacle to a Razorback upset is the race distance, the race will be the first ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer A soggy course and the nation's best competition didn't deter the Wildcat cross country teams Saturday at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla. Despite having to run through mud, the men's and women's teams finished second and fifth, respectively, against Division I powerhouses like Arkansas, Oklahoma ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer If the ACU men's cross country team competes with opposing runners like they have been competing with each other, Saturday's Oklahoma State Cowboy Cross Country Jamboree could go very well for the Wildcats. The top men's runners fought it out Monday during a tough, hot practice, completing five repeat miles in or ... [Read More…]

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, ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer As expected, the Wildcats dominated the ACU Cross Country Classic on Friday, placing first in both the men's and women's races. The men were nearly perfect, scoring a meet-low 18 points and placing all five runners in the top seven finishers. The women scored 34 points on their way to a team win, placing three in the ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer After almost three weeks of witnessing the depth of the talent pool on his men's and women's teams, head cross country coach Derek Hood's grin is as big as his expectations. Who wouldn't smile, however, when a combined six all-American men and women from a year ago are joined by a batch of talented newcomers, to form ... [Read More…]

By Steve Holt, Sports Writer Nicodemus Naimadu made history on November 20. Barely. The freshman runner became only the second Wildcat ever to win the individual title at the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships, edging out Western State's Oliver Bodor by just one-tenth of a second at the championship meet in Evansville, ... [Read More…]