Men's Cross Country Squad Sweeps LSWA Awards
Jun 21, 1999 | Cross Country
December 17, 1998
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane University's athletic success this fall wasn't limited to football. The Green Wave men's cross country team, led by Amos Kipyegon, won four meets and earned its first berth in the NCAA Championships.
So it's no surprise that Tulane swept all the special awards on the 1998 All-Louisiana Men's Cross Country team. Kipyegon was a repeat selection as Runner of the Year. Andrew Lilly is Newcomer of the Year, and Peter Rotich was chosen Freshman of the Year. The Wave's Ron Bazil is the Coach of the Year.
Tulane also had three of the seven runners on the All-Louisiana team, which was chosen by a Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel. Tulane was the only school with three All-Louisiana selections.
Kipyegon, a senior from Eldoret, Kenya, was unbeaten in six meets before finishing fourth Nov. 14 in the NCAA South Central Regional meet at Denton, Texas. His six victories were by an average of 33 seconds, and he won his second consecutive Conference USA championship.
Rotich earned four top-10 finishes and was all-conference and all-region. Lilly, a transfer from The Citadel, clinched Tulane's second-place finish at the regional meet and automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with his 44th-place finish.
Bazil - in his fourth season at Tulane and a winner of this award in 1995 - led the Wave to the first NCAA Championships berth by a Louisiana school since McNeese State in 1976.
Also on the All-Louisiana team with Kipyegon and Rotich are teammate Jacob Busienei.
The news was also good for the Green Wave women, as Hanne Lyngstad's record-setting season resulted in a pair of special awards for her on the 1998 All-Louisiana Women's Cross Country Team.
Lyngstad, a Tulane University sophomore, was selected Runner of the Year and Newcomer of the Year by a Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel. Her credentials included:
- The Conference USA individual championship, one of three races she won this fall.
- A seventh-place finish Nov. 14 at the NCAA South Central Regional meet at Denton, Texas, making her the first Green Wave woman to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
- School records at three miles (18 minutes, 24 seconds) and 5,000 meters (16:49.97). She became the first woman in school history to break the 17-minute barrier for 5,000 meters.
Teammate Alison Lambert joined Lyngstad on the All-Louisiana Women's Cross Country Team.
