INDIANAPOLIS – For the second time in her storied Eastern New Mexico cross country career, senior Mercy Rotich has qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships that are to be held at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Dec. 1.
Rotich qualified for the event after coming away with a 15th place finish at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships in Denver, Colo. on Saturday. Rotich crossed the finish line in 22:18.7, setting the sixth-fastest 6k time in the history of the ENMU program.
The finish garnered her USTFCCCA All-South Central Region accolades for the second time in her career after earning all-region honors when she won the 2016 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship.
Rotich will be looking to become a two-time All-American, earning the status when she came away with a sixth place finish at the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championships. In that event, she scored the top 6k time in ENMU history after she crossed the finish line in 20:36, setting the only sub 21-minute mark in program history. She eclipsed the previous best mark of 21:47 that she set at the 2016 regional championships.
With one race left to go in her Greyhounds career, Rotich has made her marks all over the ENMU record books. She currently holds the six fastest 6k times in the history of the program while also breaking the ENMU 5k record twice this season, first coming in the season-opener at the Texas Tech Open and then once again at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival.
On Nov. 3, Rotich became the first ENMU women’s cross country runner to ever win the Lone Star Conference Championship, crossing the finish line in 21:54.20 and beating the next closest competitor by more than a minute. The win marked the third individual race victory in her Greyhounds career after winning the LSC Preview two weeks prior and winning the 2016 regional championship. During her 2018 campaign, Rotich has turned in four top-three finishes to go with her two individual wins.
