Different race, same objective

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country runners will compete Friday at the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Arizona, for a spot in the NCAA Championships.

UTRGV placed six runners in the top 20 at the WAC Championships Nov. 2. Runners from the men’s team include sophomore Abraham Chirchir, senior Omer Almog, freshman Alex Muñoz, junior Juan Manzano and senior Ricardo Mendoza. Sophomore Dorcas Koech will run for the UTRGV Women’s Team.

“We’re coming off a pretty big conference meet, especially on the men’s side,” said Cross-Country Head Coach Darren Flowers.

Chirchir finished second out of 62 with a time of 24:58.67, leading the men’s cross-country team to a new program record.

“We know that Abraham’s in great shape and ready for an opportunity to make the national championships,” Flowers said. “That’s our focus, it’s been our focus all year. I know he’s physically and mentally ready to do that.”

He also explained the team’s mentality moving forward.

“Teams are gonna be fighting for a spot for the NCAA Championship,” Flowers said. “Individuals are gonna be fighting for a spot to the NCAA Championship. You’re gonna see everyone put their best foot forward and we’re gonna do the same.”

Chirchir said what motivates him the most is to get better every day.

“There is a lot of factors. So many things that motivate me, like my daily hard work,” Chirchir said. “Every now and then, when I race, I see that I’m getting better than last time. If you compare my results, like, maybe last year and this year, you can see that there is a progress. That’s what motivates me to keep going.”

He also finds encouragement from his coach.

“Above all, I have a very good coach, who keeps on motivating me,” Chirchir said. “That’s what keeps me going every day.”

Last year, he consistently finished within the top 5, earning Freshman of the Year on multiple occasions.

This year was no exception.

“That was something,” Chirchir said. “When I left here, I was so prepared, like, ‘I’m gonna win that race.’ I mean it happens. Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win.”

He was satisfied with the results.

“I was happy with the position,” Chirchir said. “Getting the bottom top three is not easy. I was happy with my performance.”

Koech also finished within the top 20 runners.

“I started running last year [in] February,” she said. “I had a friend of mine who came to [the] U.S. with a scholarship and I was like, ‘Oh, I need to try this.’ That’s when I realized I had a talent.”

However, there is still work that needs to be done.

“I’m having that thing, like, I have to start running from [the] back then I go pick, pick, pick,” Koech said. “But this last competition I was having a problem in catching up with the people. By the time I try picking, my body was freezing completely.”

Flowers expects this upcoming championship to be a great one.

“You know, I never really know what to expect,” he said. “Every race is different. One thing that we know we can expect is that the competition is gonna be great.”