RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Harding 1st-year distance runner Benson Lingokal has been named the Great American Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the third time this season, the league office announced Tuesday.
Lingokal earned the honor following his historic performance Friday morning at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational at the Dale Watts '71 Cross Country Course in College Station, Texas.
Competing against a 369-runner field loaded with elite Division I talent, the Eldoret, Kenya native finished 10th overall and eighth in team scoring with an 8,000-meter time of 23:14.4 (4:40.5 average mile pace). Lingokal was one of only three non-Division I competitors to finish inside the top 10.
His 23:14.4 clocking stands as the second-fastest 8K in Harding cross-country history, trailing only the school record of 23:11.1 set by Harding Athletics Hall of Famer Daniel Kirwa at the 2009 Missouri Southern Stampede. Lingokal improved upon his previous collegiate personal best of 23:50.5 set on Oct. 3 at the Louisville Classic by more than 36 seconds.
Lingokal's outing propelled the Bisons to a 17th-place team finish in a 38-team field with 444 points, outperforming 12 NCAA Division I programs including North Texas, New Mexico State, Rice, Baylor, and LSU.
This marks Lingokal's third weekly conference accolade of his debut campaign. He previously garnered the award on Sept. 7 after finishing as the individual runner-up at the Memphis Twilight Classic and on Oct. 5 following a fourth-place finish at the Louisville Classic.
East Central 2nd-year runner Joyce Kemboi claimed GAC Women's Runner of the Week honors alongside USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National Women's Athlete of the Week recognition for the second time this fall after winning the 5K at Dallas Baptist's Old Glory Gallop in 16:26.5.
Harding has concluded its regular-season slate and now turns its focus to the postseason. The Bisons return to action on Saturday, Nov. 7, traveling to Shawnee, Oklahoma, to compete in the 2026 Great American Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by Oklahoma Baptist.
