Wildcats set to run at nationals

ACU men looking for first national championship

CHINO, Calif. -- The ACU men's and women's cross country teams will close out their respective seasons Saturday at the NCAA Division II championship meet, which will be hosted by Cal Poly-Pomona.

The women's 6-kilometer race will get the meet started at 11 a.m. local time (1 p.m. Abilene time) with the men's 10-kilometer race scheduled to start at noon local time (2 p.m. Abilene time).

The ACU men -- ranked No. 4 in the nation -- won their sixth straight NCAA Division II South Central Region championship two weeks ago in Abilene, and they will be led by defending national champion Nicodemus Naimadu, who also owns two individual regional titles.  Naimadu and teammates Serge Gasore, Phillip Birgen, Alberic Nkurunziza, Lucky Hadbe and Martin O'Kello will try to lead the Wildcats to their first cross country national title.

ACU finished second each year from 2000-03 before finishing third last year.

The ACU women, meanwhile, are taking a full team to the meet for the first time since 1997 after finishing second two weeks ago at the regional meet.  Senior Trina Cox won the individual regional title, and she, along with Adeh Mwamba and Olha Kryv'yak, are the Wildcats' best hopes for earning all-America honors.

For more on the meet, visit the official Web site.