5/10/10 Durham, NC-The weather was cool, but the performances were hot at Duke University on Sunday evening as select members of both the men's and women's track teams competed at the Duke University Twilight Meet.

Ben Hall (Jr./Columbus, NC) and Wilbourn Kosgei (Sr./Kapsabet, Kenya) started off the hot performances when both of them ran faster than the ‘B' qualifying standard in the 5,000 meter event for NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Nationals, which will take place at the end of this month at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Kosgei led his younger teammate across the finish line in 15:08.19 when he finished in 12^th place. Hall slipped under the qualifying mark by less than half a second when he finished in 14^th place while running a brisk 15:11.51. The ‘B' standard for the national championship meet is 15:12.00. Both runners' efforts eclipsed the previous school record of 15:11.76, which Wilbourn Kosgei ran in 2008 at the UNC-Charlotte 49er Classic.

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.

4/16/10 Cullowhee, NC- William Parker started it off and Ben Hall put an exclamation point to a day full of personal bests and school records for the Cavaliers at the 2010 AAC Track & Field Championships held on the campus of Western Carolina University.

Freshman William Parker saved his season's best jumps for when it mattered the most; his efforts landed him a 2^nd place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.92m (19-5.25) and a 1.82m (5-11.5) 3^rd place finish in the high jump.

"Billy set the tone for the entire day. I felt it was important for him to start our day off right, and he didn't disappoint," praised Coach Jose Larios. "I can't believe there was any athlete out there that was more determined and more focused on the AAC's as Billy… I'd consider him to be one of the most impactful freshman in the conference."

In the mens' 1500m race, Will Musto (So./Rocky Face, GA) finished in 7^th place in a personal best time of 4:23.99, while Winston Rheinbolt (Fr./Lima, Peru) finished 8^th in 4:34.63.

Daniel Dunn (Jr./Daytona Beach, FL) ran another personal best for the second weekend in a row when he finished in 3^rd place in the 3000m Steeplechase in 10:36.06.

The hottest performance of the day came in the second-to-last event, when Ben Hall (Jr./Columbus, NC) outkicked teammate Wilbourn Kosgei (Sr./Kapsabet, Kenya) to win the mens' 5000m race and take home his first AAC title. Hall finished in 15:30.65, a 10 second personal best, while teammate Wilbourn Kosgei finished 2^nd in 15:32.03; Jared Nielsen crossed the finish line in 10^th in 17:26.13.

"I was just trying to finish hard, and I was hoping that Wilbourn would finish harder," Hall said about outkicking his teammate. "As I passed him I said, ‘Come on, Wilbourn!' but he didn't."

In the mens' 800m race, Noah Hall finished 6^th in 2:05.80, while Will Musto struggled to a 2:14.77, 8^th place finish. Earlier in the day, Hall (Fr./Columbus, NC) competing in the long jump flew 5.03m (16' 6") to finish in 7^th place.

On the ladies' side, Kim Hibbit (Fr./Cleveland, OH) finished in 4^th place in the 1500m "metric mile", running 5:55.14, while Elyse Gildernew (So./Lookout Mountain, GA) finished in 5^th place in 6:02.90. Hibbit also ran a sizeable season's best time in the 800m race, where she finished 5^th in 2:41.52. Gildernew also competed in the 800m; she finished in 6^th place in 2:55.52.

In the womens' 5000m event, Lindsay Mizok (So./Weddington, NC) was plagued by seasonal allergies which caused difficulties with her breathing, and she did not finish after practically collapsing two miles into the event.

Both Running Cavaliers teams finished in 4^th place in the conference; the men scored 15 points, while the women scored 1 point.

The long distance portion of the team will be traveling to Nashville, TN next weekend to chase national qualifying standards at the Country Music Half Marathon. The rest of the team is off until May 9, when they will compete at the Duke Twilight Last Chance Meet.

Photo Credit:  Arilicia Adkins