TERRE HAUTE, IN - Iona College men's cross country junior Leonard Korir finished fourth overall in leading the Gaels to an eighth place finish at the 2010 NCAA Championship at the LaVern Gibson Championship XC Course. Korir helped Iona to its ninth straight Top 10 finish at the national championship as the program remains one of two in NCAA Div. I to accomplish the feat.
Korir completed the 10k course in 29:42.0, just under 20 seconds behind the racewinner, Samuel Chelanga from Liberty University. Arizona's Stephen Sambu finished second and Oregon's Luke Puskedra was third overall. With the finish, Korir was named the 10th All-American for the program during its current nine year stretch. The fourth place finish was the third highest finish in Iona history, behind Richard Kiplagat's runner-up performance in 2005 and Andrew Ledwith's third place honor in 2008. Korir completed a stellar fall for the Gaels that saw him earn the individual crowns at both the MAAC Championship and the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship.
Sophomore Matthew Bayley was the Gaels No. 2 finisher, finishing 63rd overall in 30:42.9. He was folloewd closely by Iona newcomers Mitch Goose and Ben Lindsay in 65th (30:44.2) and 73rd (30:53.5). Junior Alexander Soderberg, a 2009 All-American, battled an illness and was the team's fifth scorer in 166th place (31:45.3).
Oklahoma State earned the team title with 73 points. Also finishing ahead of Iona was Florida State, Wisconsin, Stanford, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Indiana. Behind the Gaels were Northern Arizona and Arkansas to complete the Top 10.