Posted: November 18, 2007

Athletics: Naimadu Makes NCAA History With Fourth Straight XC Title

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com By Bob Ramsak Abilene Christian University senior Nicodemus Naimadu made NCAA history when he captured his fourth straight Division II cross country title on Saturday. The 23-year-old native of Narok, Kenya, cruised to a 25 second victory at the D-II championships in Joplin, Mo., to become the first collegiate athlete to collect four individual cross country titles at any level. Three others --Gerry Lindgren, Steve Prefontaine and Henry Rono-- had tallied three victories each, all at the Division I level. "It was a very competitive race," Naimadu said. "When I moved ahead with a mile or more to go and nobody came with me, I believed I would win." Naimadu injured his knee in a fall at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Ok., on September 29, and finished second, bringing an 11-race win streak in cross country to an end. He raced only once since to fully recover in time for the national title chase. Saturday's victory upped Naimadu's NCAA D-II title haul to a dozen, including those he collected on the track indoors and outdoors. On the track, he has personal bests of 8:25.71 in the 3000m steeplechase, 13:34.98 in the 5000m and 28:06.26 in the 10,000m. His race on Saturday was his last as a collegian. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest