LC STATE ATHLETICS NEWS

LEWISTON, Idaho – Freshman Damaris Kibiwot gets better every race, evident by her performance on Saturday. The first-year Warrior from Eldoret, Kenya, set the LC State freshman 5k record at the LC State Invitational with a time of 18:04 to lead the group of Warrior women.

“Our team time compared to a year ago is exactly the same, down to the second, so we are in a good spot considering that we have a number of new people and people that have improved,” Head Coach Mike Collins said. “Going into Nebraska next week and then conference, we feel pretty good about where we are at and hopefully, we will continue to improve.”

Kibiwot bested the freshman record set by LC State Hall of Famer Tausha Kuzmic (18:07) in 2001. Her time is the fastest by a first-year runner since Stephanie Shuel ran a time of 18:21 in 2008.

No. 15 LC State Women’s Cross Country placed eighth as a team and every runner in the top five ran a personal-best. Kibiwot led the group with a 31^st-place finish and ran nearly 50 seconds faster than her previous career-best. Grace Tiegs clocked a time of 18:09 to place 33^rd and senior Abigail Shumaker was 58^th (18:44).

Freshman Lily Bennett earned a spot in the top 60 with a time of 18:47 and Camille Ussher placed 64^th (18:59) to round out the top five.

Mercy Cherono made her collegiate debut with a strong race. She finished 81^st with a time of 19:53. Senior Grace McCormick was 82^nd (20:17) and Leila Flannery finished 88^th (21:42) in her first race. Haileyann Johnson rounded out the group in 89^th (23:49).

Boise State won the NCAA Division I-heavy meet. LC State bested NAIA opponent Montana Western by nearly 80 points.

UP NEXT

The Warrior women wrap up the regular season in Crete, Neb., at the Dean White Invitational on Oct. 26. The meet is hosted by Doane (Neb.) and will feature a strong group of NAIA talent.

Stay up to date with all things Warrior Athletics at lcwarriors.com and on social media @LCWarriors.