Chesang Named Big 12 Runner of the Week

Sept. 27, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

University of Kansas junior Benson Chesang was named the Big 12 Runner of the Week as announced by the league office on Tuesday. The Eldama Ravine, Kenya, native finished second overall out of 255 runners at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 24. The returning All-American ran a time of 24:05 in the 8k race. Wisconsin’s Simon Bairu, last year’s NCAA cross country champion, was the only runner to finish ahead of Chesang.

The race featured a number of teams ranked in the top 30, including BYU, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Cal Poly, Ohio State, Providence and Butler. The defending Big 12 champion paced the team to an eighth-place overall finish. Arizona State, Providence, and Butler, ranked 11th, 27th, and 17th, respectively, all finished behind the Jayhawks. This was Chesang’s ninth top-10 finish of his career.

This was the second time in his career that Chesang has received this honor. He was also Big 12 Runner of the Week last season for the week of Sept. 28.

The Jayhawks will be off until Oct. 15 when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for NCAA Pre-Nationals.