Hillary Mugun Finishes 2nd at ECC Cross Country Championships

Brookville, NY– The UDC Men's Cross Country Team traveled up to Brookville, NY on Sunday to make their debut in the ECC Cross Country Championships. The Firebirds looked to prove to the conference their true potential and lay a foundation of success within the East Coast Conference. The team's performance was highlighted with a 2nd place finish by Junior All-American Hillary Mugun (Nandi Hills, Kenya).

Staying with the front pack the entire race, Hillary crossed the line in 25:54 to take 2nd place to ECC Cross Country Athlete of the Year, Nick Filippazzo from Molloy College. This 2nd place finish made Hillary a First Team All-Conference selection. Junior Zephaniah Koech was the next finisher for the Firebirds with a strong 15th place finish in 27:39. Zephaniah moved up continuously during the race for his 15th place finish, just missing out being an All-Conference selection.

Rounding out the placing for UDC were Linus Kosgei who was 34th in 29:56 minutes, Justin Chemallan 51st in 32:01 minutes and Dorrelle Smith 64th in 37:06 minutes. The Team finished 6th overall of the eight teams competing.  The Firebirds next head to the NCAA Regional championships in Boston, MA 11/06/11.

Following the race Coach Alton McKenzie said,  "I was very pleased with the performance of the team as they competed very hard in our first ECC Championships. Zephaniah just missed out on being a Second Team All-Conference member so he definitely has something to strive for next year. Hillary ran a courageous race never being worse than 2nd during the entire race. I look forward to another strong effort from him along with the rest of the team at the NCAA Regional Championship Meet."