Peter Kosgei Earns Weekly SEC Honor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Peter Kosgei, a senior on the No. 6 Arkansas cross country team, was named the SEC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week, it was announced by the conference on Tuesday.

Kosgei, currently leading the SEC in the 10K, was the top UA finisher for the third time this season at the 18th annual Chile Pepper Festival. He crossed the line in second place (of 288 runners) with a time of 28:33.7, a 10K personal-best. The Kenyan native was also the top SEC finisher (out of 41). The next SEC finisher was Barnabas Kirui of Ole Miss who finished 10th with a time of 28:49.0.

The Razorbacks finished second (out of 21 teams) to No. 11 UTEP at the Chile Pepper Festival. Arkansas finished four of its runners in the top 25 and five in the top 30. Arkansas was the top SEC team (out of the five participating) in its first match up against an SEC squad, including finishing ahead of No. 15 Alabama.

Next up for head coach John McDonnell and the Razorbacks are the 2006 SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, La., Sat., Oct. 28. McDonnell and his squads have won 32-consecutive league cross country titles and will be in the hunt for their 16th-consecutive SEC cross country title. A title win at LSU will also give Arkansas its 80th conference title and 41st SEC title, including cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field.