Troy University Athletics
Moujoodi Finishes as Top Collegiate
10/17/2009 4:30:00 PM | Cross Country
TROY, Ala. - Prior to the beginning of the 10th annual Coach O Invitational, Troy head cross country coach Stephane Hetherington pulled senior Jeremy Moujoodi aside. The meeting took place just moments before the beginning of Moujoodi's final home race of his career.
"I pulled him aside and told him that he was in amazing shape," Hetherington said. "He knows that from the workouts this season. He has progressed in all of the races and training sessions this season. He knows and I know it, and that was my way of instilling in him some extra confidence. I am sure when he got to the two-mile mark and the non-collegiate runners were starting to string out and get tired, I am sure he felt that. The plan all along for him was to push in the last part of the race, and now he knows he is strong enough to do that."
The meeting worked as Moujoodi finished with Top Collegiate honors, finishing fourth overall in the meet. The senior relaxed for the first two miles of the race, and with the race a little over a mile long, Moujoodi started to make his move from ninth up to fourth in the collegiate standings. After running uphill and then downhill very quickly, Moujoodi hit another stride at the two-mile mark when he took over the top collegiate position and held that position until the end - finishing with a time of 15:20.97.
"With this course you can't run the first half fast," Moujoodi said. "I just went out relaxed until the two-mile mark, and then I just put it in my mind that I am going to run the remainder of the race as hard as I can. I truly worked on that last mile and was able to hold on."
The senior had a good measuring stick on the pace that he was running, as he was following former Trojan All-American Michael Green over the last mile which allowed Moujoodi to focus ahead.
"I liked having him up there in front of me," Moujoodi said. "I know I can run with him and it just gave me the confidence I needed for the race. When I came around the corner and saw him in front of me, it helped me keep my eyes focused on him and not worry about what was behind me. That is what you have to do when you are running, you just have to focus ahead and not worry about what is behind you."
What was behind Moujoodi was a field of 52 other collegiate runners trying to chase down the senior. Teammate Enock Kirui was the next Trojan to cross the line, as he finished eighth overall (fifth in the collegiate standings) with a time of 15:44.71. Kirui was the top collegiate runner for most of the time until the hill about the 1.5-mile mark, but was able to finish strong to gain points for the Trojans in the team standings. Senior Terrence Dixon finished 14th overall (11th in the collegiate standings) with a time of 16:05.91, while Alec Hamm (16:28.19) and Nathan Rouse (16:29.08) crossed the line 23rd and 24th overall. Brett Lewis was the next Trojan to cross the line with a time of 16:35.91 in 26th place, while Adam Bradley finished 28th overall with a time of 16:42.35 and Adam Vise 33rd with a time of 16:57.43.
The Trojans finished fifth overall with 96 points, trailing only third-ranked Alabama (61) points and Alabama State University (56 points) in the team standings.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, the Trojans finished third overall with 68 points. They finished just two points behind South Alabama (66 points) and finished behind overall champion Samford (31 points). The Trojans were able to finish third with five runners finishing in the top 25, including Sylvia Chirchir finishing fifth overall with a time of 11:23.12.
Kelly Harrington finished 13th overall with a time of 11:54.33, while freshman Morgan Paulson finished 14th overall with a time of 11:56.72. Chalyce Stancil ran her best of the season, finishing 18th overall with a time of 12:04.78, while Anastasia Limo finished 22nd overall with a time of 12:13.33. Freshman Allison Paulson wrapped up the top 25 finishes for the Trojans, finishing 24th overall with a time of 12:28.42.
All week, Hetherington prepared the women to run as a team and to realize how important it is to run as a team. This week, he believes they understood that concept from start to finish.
"They absolutely ran as a team today," Hetherington said. "They were packed up past halfway, which as a cross country team, is the easiest way to run. Even if there is someone who is competing with their own teammates, it just helps push each other. Like I have said in the past, most of our middle pack runners closed the gap with our top runners in the middle today and that is why we ended up running so well."
This was the fourth different atmosphere the Trojans have run in the this season. They have battled heat (90s at the Gulf Coast Stampede), rain (Crimson Classic), cold (50s at the Coach O Invitational) and high skies (Trojan Invitational) this season.
"The variance in all of the conditions have prepared us," Hetherington said. "The variance in the competition, the courses and the weather will leave us utterly prepared for the conference meet. We will be prepared for anything at conference. Today we had a couple of guys who suffered from the cold, and they know now to wear a shirt under their uniform at conference. So we are not going to make any mistakes at conference."
The Trojans can now focus on the conference championships in Monroe on October 31, as that is their next meet on the schedule as the regular season came to a close Saturday morning.
