JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Andrew Kiplagat registered a winning time in his first race as a member of Bethune-Cookman Men's Cross Country on Friday evening, as the Wildcats men's and women's sides each competed in the Florida Intercollegiate Cross Country Invitational at Cecil Field. The event was hosted by the University of North Florida.
 
Kiplagat, a junior transfer from Jackson State, set a school record en route to winning the men's 8K race with a time of 24:40.2. A native of Chebara, Kenya, Kiplagat won the event by six seconds over Siyabonga Mokgothu of Florida Gulf Coast, who finished with a mark of 24:46.5 on the night.
 
Other performers on the men's side for the Wildcats included last year's SWAC individual champion Victor Kibet, who logged a top 20 performance with a time of 25:22.8. He finished 17th overall in the field.
 
Gerrard Griffin (29:16.1) and Dashon Gill (29:55.8) were the third and fourth Wildcats in the scoring for Head Coach Garon Jackson's side. Returning sophomore Majet Bethely (30:11.3) was followed by Jalen Jackson (30:32.6), as well as Andre Sewell (30:52.0) and Dashawn Buist (31:19.5) in the B-CU scoring. Rounding out the times for the Cats was sophomore Cristian Mitchell (33:10.1), respectfully.
 
In the team standings, Bethune-Cookman finished sixth on the men's side with a score of 193. The Host Ospreys of UNF (41) claimed the men's team victory, followed by Florida (54) and Florida Gulf Coast (88) to round out the top three teams.
 
In the women's 5K race, B-CU was topped by senior Valencia Butler with a finishing time of 21:32.2, allowing her to come across 68th in the field. She was followed in the Wildcats scoring by classmate Riana Wilford (22:34.2) and freshman Shelvany Goin (23:02.3), respectively.
 
Also running hard for the Cats was senior Nyidjah Ives (24:36.2), in addition to senior transfer Morgan Middleton (24:54.6) competing in her first event as a Wildcats after coming over from Johnson C. Smith. Another sophomore for the Cats – Jamariya Robinson, ran a time of 26:23.1, while teammate and freshman Bertina Jean (30:27.3) was also racing in her first event for the Maroon and Gold.
 
The B-CU women finished 13th in the event with a score of 368. The victory was taken by Florida (26), while Florida State (52) and UCF (84) rounded out the top three.
 
Bethune-Cookman is back in action again Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Wildcats take part in the Embry-Riddle Cross Country Classic hosted by ERAU in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
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