Simpson Athletes Earn All-American Accolades

For Immediate Release
November 16, 2007

REDDING, Calif. - Simpson University's cross country athletes, Abednego Magut and Ezra Matai traveled to Cedarville, Ohio to compete in the 40th Annual National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Cross Country Championship. The post-season championship was held at Cedarville University on the Elvin R. King Cross Country course.

Both men came to Simpson University from Kenya on athletic scholarships and began their freshman year this fall.

Magut finished 2nd in the 8 kilometer with a time of 25:17 and Matai finished 13th at 26:00 qualifying them as Division 1 NCCAA All-Americans. Matai earned a personal best time, beating his former record by 55 seconds.

Honors continue to accumulate for Magut. In addition to his NCCAA All-American status, he earned 1st Team All-American by placing in the top 15 in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Championships held in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Magut finished 13th out of 266 runners.

Simpson University men's and women's cross country coach, Ben Gurczynski, said, "For Abednego and Ezra to do as well as they did is a great honor. They were the only two individuals in the NCCAA Championships from the west coast and they represented well. I'm very pleased with how well they've done."

Simpson University's cross country team participates in two leagues. This was the first year that student-athletes attended NCCAA and qualified for NAIA for this sport.

This is Simpson's second year with a cross country program.

Simpson University is a Christian liberal arts university offering undergraduate, graduate, and teaching credential programs. Simpson's athletic department offers intercollegiate programs in women's volleyball and softball; men's and women's soccer, golf, basketball, and cross-country; and men's baseball. For more information about Simpson University, or to arrange a personalized visit, call 1-888-9-SIMPSON or visit http://www.simpsonuniversity.edu/.

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Contact: Wendy Matthews
wmatthews@simpsonuniversity.edu
(530) 226-4126