Northwest Tech wins first men's half marathon national title
Tallahassee, FL – Northwest Tech (KS) wins the 2022 NJCAA Men's Half Marathon Championship, presented by the Marines, after a stellar team performance. The Mavericks secured the title after sophomore Nathan Kipyego crossed the finish line as the fourth runner from Northwest Tech and a tie for first place based on the first three runners.
El Paso (TX) tied the Mavericks with 18 team points and was led by two All-American runners in Amos Yego and Adams Biwott and who finished second and third respectively.
Northwest Tech wins its first title in school history by tiebreaker
On a wet and rainy Championship Tuesday, the Mavericks won in one of the closest races in recent memory. They were led by freshman Brian Kiptoo at a time of 1:07:38 and fourth place finish. Peter Kipkemboi also earned All-America honors for the Mavs with a sixth-place finish and time of 1:08:03.
Sophomore Raphael Kitur was the third Maverick to cross the finish line in eighth place and time of 1:08:49. Nathan Kipyego's 18th place finish ended up sealing the deal for Northwest Tech, as their top 3 finishers tied El Paso's. Kipyego finished six places high than El Paso's runner and sealed the first national title in school history.
El Paso takes home a second-place finish
El Paso came up just short of winning their third men's half marathon title in school history. All of their top three runners finished within the top 15. Amos Yego came in second place overall with a time of 1:07:19, just seven seconds off of a first-place finish. Adams Biwott finished in third place overall with a time of 1:07:27. Both Yego and Biwott earned All-American honors.
Who would win the championship came down to the fourth runner to cross the finish line, which results in a narrow fourth-place finish for El Paso.
