Texas Tech may have lost its national champion, but the women’s cross country team held on to its Big 12 title.

The No. 14 Red Raiders became back-to-back conference champions on Saturday, as four runners placed in the top 10 at the 2009 Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo.

Coach Jon Murray said the already challenging course was saturated with water.

“It was a tough course,” Murray said. “It’s hilly with a lot of turns, and they’d gotten four or five inches of rain this week. The ladies responded well to that.”

Tech won its first Big 12 championship in 2008, thanks in large part to three-time NCAA champion Sally Kipyego. This year the Raiders had to score well enough as a team to overcome losing Kipyego to graduation.

Tech’s Lillian Badaru came in fourth, crossing the finish in 21:22.35, with Purity Biwott just behind her with a time of 21:23.83.

“Lillian was in the front pack,” Murray said. “Purity was back and caught the Kansas State girl (who finished sixth). Purity finishes very strong.”
Gladys Kipsang and Caroline Karunde finished seventh and ninth, respectively, with Winrose Karunde rounding out the Tech scoring in 13th place.

Placing all five of its scorers in the top 15 gave Tech a big boost, and having four in the top 10 almost guaranteed the team win.

“That was a total team effort,” Murray said. “When Colorado finishes one-two, you know you’re going to have to make up for it somewhere.”
The third-ranked Buffs finished first and second overall, with Jenny Barringer winning the individual title in 20:27.46 and true freshman Allie McLaughlin finishing second in 21:13.36.

While Barringer’s first-place finish was all but guaranteed, Murray said McLaughlin’s appearance was a surprise.

“She had an outstanding race,” Murray said. “It’s going to be interesting to watch her throughout her career.”

Tech’s men’s team finished 10th overall. Gilbert Limo provided the fastest finish, crossing the line in 25:43.54 for 24th place. Silas Kemboi finished 46th and Zach Quinones crossed the line in 26:57.07.

No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State took the top three spots to run away with first as a team, while No. 4 Colorado finished second.

“We were a little disappointed,” Murray said. “We thought we could have finished closer to the top six.”