4/24/10 Nashville, TN- Storms threatened to cancel or shorten Saturday's Music City Half Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee, but nothing of the sort got in the way of Wilbourn Kosgei (Sr./Kapsabet, Kenya) and Lindsay Mizok (So./Weddington, NC) as both runners met the NAIA qualifying standards for the National Championship Meet.

Kosgei went well under the "A" standard with his 1:13:19. The senior got after it early, as he went through two miles in 10:40 (5:20 per mile pace) before he settled in at 5:35 pace for the remainder of the race. He finished in 7^th place out of 24,636 runners, only a few minutes behind the winner and US 50km Record Holder Josh Cox.

Mizok qualified with a "B" standard with her 1:33:29 finish; she was only 29 seconds off of the "A" standard of 1:33:00. This is her second year in a row qualifying in the marathon. She finished in 19^th place out of the 15,642 female competitors.

Jared Nielsen (So./Charlotte, NC) started out well and went through three miles right on pace to qualify, but struggled and was forced to drop out at six miles. He showed guts, though, as he got back in the race and jogged to the finish.

"I was really thrilled for Wilbourn.  He's now qualified for nationals every year as a student-athlete.  This is Lindsay's second trip in as many years, so we're all happy to see her make it again," said Coach Larios.  "It was a tough break for Jared.  Hopefully, he'll bounce back and pop a solid PR at Duke in a couple of weeks."

Kosgei and Mizok join Ben Hall (Jr./Columbus, NC) and Olivia Mills (Fr./Fredericksburg, VA) as Cavaliers who have qualified for the National Championship Meet. All four athletes have qualified as marathoners.

The NAIA Track and Field National Championships will be held at Indiana Wesleyan College in Marion, Indiana from May 27-29. The marathon will be contested on Saturday, May 29.

The Cavaliers will compete next at Duke University's Twilight Last Chance Meet on May 9.