Mugun, District of Columbia Men's Cross Country Open Season on Winning Note

SMYRNA, DE - The University of the District of Columbia men's cross country team opened its 2012 season with senior All-American Hillary Mugun leading all 51 contenders with a victory in the Delaware State Invitational held in Smyrna, DE. 

Mugun, an Accounting major out of Nandi Hills, Kenya (Meteitei HS) who finished 2nd at this Invitational last year with a time of 16:06, completed the 5K Course in a time of 15:31, leading from the gun in his usual front-running style.

The next finisher for the Firebirds was freshman Sociology major Baldin Needham (Brownstown, Jamaica - St. Jago HS), who opened his collegiate career with a time of 16:45 - good for 8th place overall. Senior Accounting major Zephaniah Koech (Nandi Hills, Kenya - Terige HS) was 17th overall in a time of 17:13, and freshman Najee Anderson was 32nd overall with a time of 20:03.

District of Columbia finished 3rd overall of the seven teams that competed.

"It's always great to open your season with a victory, so needless to say, I'm very happy with Hillary's performance," head coach Alton McKenzie said. "This will be a confidence booster for him, and the team, for the rest of the season. I was also very impressed with Baldin's debut as a collegiate athlete and Cross Country competitor. A top-ten finish is a tremendous effort for his first time out. Overall, I was pleased with our teams' effort, and I look forward to the group continuing to improve throughout the season."