Sophomore
Nicaise Kazingo placed eighth overall at the 2009 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship, hosted by the University of Southern Indiana, with a time of 31:19 for the 10K race. Kazingo’s finish is the highest ever for an NMHU athlete since the school joined the NCAA in 1992 and marks the third consecutive year that the Cowboys have had an All-American finisher at nationals.
“Nicaise ran an amazing race over a very tough course,” said Highlands head coach
Bob DeVries, “We knew he had been racing head to head with the best guys in the nation at conference and regionals so he was pretty confident he could race at the front in the national meet.”
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dominated the men’s championship as conference members Adams State, Western State and Colorado Mines posted a 1-2-3 finish in team scoring. In addition 11 of the top 20 finishers in the men’s race came from the RMAC ranks. Ruben Mwei of Adams State was the individual champion.
Kazingo had placed seventh at both the RMAC Championships and NCAA Central Region meet leading up to the national championships. In Evansville, the sophomore from Burundi vaulted ahead of all but three runners who had beaten him in those races and finished behind only four additional runners from across the nation.
“I was a little worried at the start,” noted DeVries, “Nicaise went by me at 500 meters and he was leading with Amos Sang of Abilene Christian. But he settled in and followed his race plan to perfection.”
Kazingo moved up steadily throughout the race---taking advantage of the hilly course. After passing the 3K mark in 16th position, he moved up to tenth at the 7K and made a big move on the final hill to race past two more runners. “I saw that they were using much energy on the hills,” said Kazingo after the race, “I knew I could catch them after that. I am very happy.”
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