NEW ORLEANS -- Tiffin junior James Ngdandu has been named USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country National Athlete of the Week following his victory at the 2015 GLIAC Men's Cross Country Championships at Kensington MetroPark in Milford, Mich. on Saturday.
NCAA DIVISION II MEN – James Ngandu, Tiffin
Junior | Nairobi, Kenya
When you win your school's first individual conference title by way of outkicking the No. 1 runner of the No. 1 team in the country, that is certainly an excellent way to make an NCAA cross country postseason debut. That's exactly what Tiffin's James Ngandu did as he topped Zach Panning of No. 1 Grand Valley State to claim the individual title at the GLIAC Championships.
Panning – who has led the GLIAC team champ No. 1 Lakers all season long – led with just over one kilometer remaining in the 8K race, but Ngandu took command shortly thereafter and held him off down the stretch to cross the line in 24:06.8 to Panning's 24:07.1. The win is his fourth of the season to go along with a runner-up finish at the All-Ohio Championships.
Not only was his title the first in Tiffin's history, it was also the first time in 20 years that a runner not wearing GVSU, Ashland or Wayne State (Mich.) jerseys has won the title.
