Four former Colonels competed in the Senior Men’s Race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on Sunday in Samorin, Slovakia.
Soufiane Bouchikhi (2010-14) delivered the top individual performance of the four, finishing fifth out of 76 competitors while representing his native Belgium. He clocked a 10K time of 30:04. Bouchikhi – a six-time All-American at EKU – finished 16th in the 5,000 meters (13:28.6) at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in London over the summer, and he was recently named the Male European Athlete of the Month after some notable cross country wins in November.
Three of the six members of the Danish national team were former Colonels on Sunday – Ole Hesselbjerg (2010-15), Thijs Nijhuis (2011-13) and Mikkel Dahl Jessen (2013-14). Hesselbjerg – a 2016 Olympian in the steeplechase – placed second on the team and 27th overall in 30:57. Nijhuis was 33rd (31:06), while Dahl Jessen took 74th (33:26).
Wade Meddles (2012-15) delivered a stellar performance at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Masterson Station Park in Lexington. Meddles – a 2012 cross country All-American at EKU – placed sixth out of 424 runners in the Men’s Open 10K race, clocking a time of 29:30.
Meddles – who runs for Roots Running Project, based out of Boulder, Colorado – took ninth at the USATF 20K Championships back in September.
Sean Vandermosten (2010-15) also competed for Roots Running Project at the USATF Championships, finishing 275th with a time of 33:48.0.
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Steve Fohl
Associate Director of EKUSports Communications
