Sandburg XC teams start season Saturday with home meet

GALESBURG — Coming off another strong campaign that saw the Chargers represented at the NJCAA Division II Championships, the Sandburg cross country teams will open their 2025 schedule this weekend at home.

 

The Chargers, led by second-year coach Kim Schrader, will host the Joan Jepngetich Memorial Invite on Saturday morning on the Galesburg campus. The women’s race is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., followed by the men’s race at 11 a.m. The inaugural invite is named in memory of Joan Jepngetich, a sophomore on last year’s Chargers women’s cross country team who died in a car accident last December.

 

Last year, Sandburg’s women’s team placed 22nd at the national meet after winning the Arrowhead Conference title and finishing second in Region 4 by a single point. The men’s team finished second in the conference and had a fourth-place showing at the Region 4 meet.

 

KEY RETURNERS

Men’s team: Mathias Kiprotich, sophomore

• 2024 All-Region 4 and All-Arrowhead Conference
• Competed at 2024 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, finishing 241st

Women’s team: Linda Koech, sophomore

• 2024 Region 4 champion and Arrowhead Conference champion
• Placed 50th at 2024 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships

 

KEY NEWCOMERS

Men’s team: Andrew Peterson, freshman

• Member of Galesburg High School’s 2024 4x800-meter relay team that placed seventh in Class 2A.
• Attended Division I Bryant last year as a member of the diving team.
• Schrader: “Andrew brings an exceptional level of fitness, discipline and training commitment to this year’s team and should be a strong competitor.”

Women’s team: Abigael Maiyo and Grace Maiyo, freshman

• Sisters from Eldoret, Kenya
• Schrader: “Grace and Abigael bring with them a strong running tradition with a penchant for speed. They’ll round out our team and look to be difference-makers for scoring.”

 

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON?

Schrader: “This year’s goal is to return to a strong presence atop both the Arrowhead Conference and Region 4 on the way to both the men’s and women’s teams representing the Chargers on the national stage. With a healthy roster of spirited competitors, each week should present new opportunities for the athletes to challenge themselves and each other.”

 

MEET TO WATCH

Sept. 5 at Prairie Stars Invite

• A new addition to the Chargers’ schedule is this meet hosted by Illinois-Springfield.
• Schrader: “This, plus our return to very competitive meets at both the Heartland Invitational and Bradley Intercollegiate, should present top-notch competition in preparation for the Arrowhead Conference and Region 4 Championships.”

 

THIS WILL BE A SUCCESSFUL SEASON IF …

Schrader: “We work together to challenge one another each day, training smart and hard, on the road to better and faster times throughout the season — for everyone.”

 

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Chargers’ roster this season includes four runners from area high schools:

• Dylan Moore (ROWVA)
• Jacob Pedigo (Galesburg)
• Andrew Peterson (Galesburg)
• Finnegan Martin (Galesburg)

 

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