Wednesday, October 21, 2009

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2009) - Senior Buccaneer distance runner Kenneth Rotich (Nairobi, Kenya) led the ETSU men's cross country team to both individual and team titles last weekend at the 16^th annual Hatter Invitational, and on Wednesday afternoon the Atlantic Sun Conference awarded the Kenyan sensation with his seventh career Runner of the Week honor.

Rotich, who claimed his sixth individual title of his career at the Sperling Sports Complex in DeLand, Fla., also surpassed Belmont's William Kemey for the most Runner of the Week accolades in league history. The 2008 Runner of the Year recipient, beat out of field of 158 competitors after finishing with a top time of 25:18 in the 8K race. Overall, the Bucs defeated Embry-Riddle (69 points) and conference rival North Florida (79 points) by posting 65 total points. 

The Engineering Technology major has now received this honor in each of the last three seasons - earning three as a sophomore in 2007, three in 2008, and his first in 2009.

Rotich and the Buccaneer men's squad look for another repeat performance, as ETSU hopes to keep the Atlantic Sun Championship crown in Johnson City. The conference championship will be contested on the same course in DeLand on Saturday (Oct. 31).

For more information on Buccaneer cross country, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.