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Photos: Hokum Karem | MCC Championships
Videos: NAIA Nationals | MCC Championships
GOSHEN, Ind. – A year after winning its first team title in a decade, the Goshen College men’s cross country team had one of its strongest regular seasons in program history.
After taking third at their own Hokum Karem event, the Maple Leafs placed five runners in the top ten to win the team title at the Defiance College Invitational. Goshen swept the top three spots as Sammy Chege (Nairobi, Kenya) won the event in 28:12, Ben Bouwman (Woodridge, Ill.) was just a second behind and David Rumsey (Iowa City, Iowa) finished in 28:37.
A week later, the Leafs made more noise as they took on some of the nations top programs – at all collegiate levels – at the Midwest Collegiate Meet. Goshen finished second among the NAIA ranks – ahead of nationally ranked Cornerstone – led by Chege’s seventh-place finish.
Chege kept his momentum going into October as he won two-straight events to start the month. The senior led the Leafs to second place at the Great Lakes Long and Short Championships –winning the 8k-race – before winning again at the Benedictine Eagle Invitational. Goshen once again crowded the leader board as Bouwman and Rumsey notched top five finishes leading the Leafs to the team title.
Goshen headed into the MCC Championships hoping to build upon their fourth-place finish from 2007 and qualify at least one individual for the NAIA National Championships for the first time in four years. On a bitter cold day in Michigan, however, the weather got the best of the Leafs as they ran to seventh place in a highly competitive field.
After sticking in the top 10 for the first four miles, Chege pulled up with a thigh injury, costing him the chance to qualify for nationals. In his place, Bouwman stepped up with a phenomenal last three miles. The junior kicked into high gear to finish eighth overall in 25:57 to earn his first national championship appearance and his second-straight All MCC honor.
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2008 Season News
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Senior Sammy Chege