This past week seven South Plains country cross country athletes competed at the 2025 NJCAA National Cross Country Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and they earned two All-American honors.
Both honors came from sophomore Dennis Cheruiyot, who placed 11th in the men’s 8K race with a time of 25:30.6, and then three days later, he placed third in the men’s half marathon with a time of 1:05:27.3.
“Dennis is a huge example of work ethic, perseverance and character culminating at a national championship meet,” South Plains Cross Country Head Coach Wesley Miller said. “He handles all of his responsibilities, works with intensity, he’s consistent, so it’s just awesome seeing him perform the way he did. He fell twice during the competition and still managed to finish 11th.
I’m extremely proud of him. Well-earned All-American performance from him.”
The reason Cheruiyot fell twice in the 8K was because of the intense weather conditions which included snow and ice on the racecourse, as well as it being 32 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill that made it feel closer to 15 degrees.
He had to prevail through similar conditions again in the half marathon, so for Cheruiyot to put together two All-American performances is quite impressive.
And while his teammates were unable to join him in that regard, they still faced the same adversity and came through with some gritty finishes.
Other competitors in the men’s 8K race included freshman Abdirisak Saidgurhan in 69th with a 27:19.5, freshman Grayson Hastings in 120th with a 28:32.3, freshman Donovan Martinez with a 30:04, freshman Yassine Bounasri in 193rd with a 31:23.6 and freshman Ylies Mihoubi did not finish. The men's team finished 21st out of 30 eligible teams with a total score of 543.
On the women’s side, sophomore Alison Guaman Tisalema was the lone Lady Texans competi- tor. Guaman would finish 89th out of 178 competitors in the women’s 5K race with a time of 21:07.2.
Just as Coach Miller noted that Cheruiyot had to overcome slipping and falling, he also said several more of his athletes faced the same thing.
So, with all things considered, it was a solid team performance to have so many athletes finish the race.
“I thought we had some very good performances. The conditions weren’t ideal for fast times, but the goal was to compete,” Coach Miller said. “We went in with some pretty high goals, and we fell a little short of our team goals, but I think we gained some good experience with a young team that I hope can really propel us into the indoor and outdoor track seasons.”
Coach Miller also went on to credit Assistant Coach Toby Kirk, who coaches the distance runners at SPC, for coaching his athletes to two All-American honors and seven national qualifying bids.
Congratulations to Coach Miller, Coach Kirk and all the cross-country runners on a fantastic season that was filled with achievements.
They’ll look to keep that trend going in track season, which kicks off on January 16 at the Corky Classic at Texas Tech.
The rest of the South Plains track & field pro gram has been practicing since early September for indoor track season, and Coach Miller said they’re coming into form as the season approaches.
Both the men’s and women’s track programs are known for their national championships, so it will be exciting to see them look to continue that trend.