Oct. 27, 2001

LAKE KRISTI, N.C. - Tulane University won its first-ever Conference USA Cross Country Championship as its men's team captured the league title Saturday morning behind a second-place effort by senior Solomon Kandie (Nairobi, Kenya).

The Green Wave women finished 10th in the 14-team meet. Head coach Ron Bazil has now guided the Wave to 18 top three finishes in C-USA cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field championships.

In the closest championship in C-USA history, the Wave men tallied 61 points, edging Marquette by just two points. Cincinnati was third with 70 points, followed by Charlotte (90 points) and DePaul (148).

Kandie covered the eight-kilometer course in a time of 23:22.4 to earn second place. Kandie's time is a Tulane record for an 8K cross country course. The previous mark was 23:48 by Amos Kipyegon in 1997. League newcomer TCU had the individual medalist with Eliud Njubi, who posted a time of 23:09.3.

Tulane junior Anthony Lagat (Eldama-Ravine, Kenya) was the Wave's second finisher, taking 10th place, while freshman Erik Emilsson (Bjarred, Sweden) was 11th overall and senior Meshack Mulupi (Kilimambogo, Kenya) finished 15th. Those three, along with Kandie, all earn all-conference honors for their performances.

Wrapping up the scoring for the Wave was freshman Phillip Aagard (Linkoping, Sweden), who took 23rd place.

On the women's side, Tulane totaled 246 points for 10th place. Marquette won the women's title with 46 points. South Florida was second with 60 points, followed by TCU with 85. Rounding out the top five were Houston (137) and East Carolina (152).

The top finisher for the Wave women was senior Katrina Gemmell (Palmerston North, New Zealand), who took ninth place with a time of 20:26.7 on the six-kilometer course. Senior Lyndie Galka was the second finisher for Tulane, taking 37th place.

Tulane Men (61 points) - 8,000 meters
2. Solomon Kandie: 23:22.4
10. Anthony Lagat: 24:12.8
11. Erik Emilsson: 24:20.0
15. Meshack Mulupi: 24:28.2
23. Phillip Aagard: 25:03.2
40. Adam Leskis: 25:25.6

Tulane Women (246 points) - 6,000 meters
9. Katrina Gemmell: 20:26.7
37. Lyndie Galka: 21:51.2
62. Carlyne Pradieu: 22:47.5
72. Megan Whelton: 23:04.4
79. Sheena Garwood: 23:41.0