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November 24, 1997

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Washington State sophomore Bernard Lagat earned All-America status with a third-place finish during the 1997 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Monday morning at the Furman University Course.

Mebrahtom Keflezghi of UCLA won the men's 10,000 meter race with a time of 28 minutes, 54 seconds. Michigan's Kevin Sullivan was the runner-up in 29:01 and Lagat crossed the finish line in 29:05, his best 10,000 meter time on any course.

"Bernard was so determined to run for the team," said WSU assistant coach Dr. Li Li, referring to the 10th-ranked Cougar men who did not receive an NCAA at-large berth. "He kept saying that this race is for his teammates."

Arkansas' Ryan Wilson, the fifth-place finisher, led the top runners through the first 4,000 meters. Lagat and Keflezghi broke away from the pack at the 5,000 meter mark and held a commanding lead over the second group at 7,000 meters.

That's when Lagat developed a side ache. Sullivan, the Canadian 1,500 meter champion, caught Lagat with 500 meters left and passed him for good with less than 100 meters until the finish line. Lagat did hold off Colorado's Adam Goucher, who finished fourth overall, with a hard sprint.

"Bernard couldn't even talk after the race. He still had the side ache," said Li.

This is the highest national finish yet for Lagat who was fourth in the NCAA indoor mile and fourth in the NCAA outdoor 1,500 meters last year.

Stanford defended its men's team title as the 2nd-ranked Cardinal edged top-ranked Arkansas 53-56. Colorado was third (108) followed by Michigan (116) and Wisconsin (201).

NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championships (Greenville, S.C. - 10,000 meters)

Team Results (22) - 1, Stanford 53. 2, Arkansas 56. 3, Colorado 108. 4, Michigan 116. 5, Wisconsin 201. 6, North Carolina State 214. 7, Michigan State 257. 8, Oregon 266. 9, William & Mary 274. 10, Weber State 278. 11, Nebraska 294. 12, Notre Dame 309. 13, Iona College 340. 14, Oklahoma State 346. 15, Iowa State 357. 16, Providence College 375. 17, Princeton 379. 18, Minnesota 424. 19, Alabama 433. 20, Texas San Antonio 540. 21, Navy 584. 22, Florida 600.

Individual Results (179) - 1, Mebrahtom Keflezghi, UCLA, 28:54. 2, Kevin Sullivan, Michigan, 29:01. 3, Bernard Lagat, Washington State, 29:05. 4, Adam Goucher, Colorado, 29:10. 5, Ryan Wilson, Arkansas, 29:13. 6, Cleophas Boor, Nebraska, 29:22. 7, Abdi Abdirahman, Arizona, 29:26. 8, Nathan Nutter, Stanford, 29:34. 9, Sean Kaley, Arkansas, 29:39. 10, Brad Hauser, Stanford, 29:42.