October 23, 2003 – The Flying Maroon Tigers have done it again. The Morehouse College Cross Country team won its ninth straight conference title at the Southern Intercollegiate Athlete Conference championships held Thursday in Atlanta’s Mozley Park.

The Maroon Tigers were led by Josiah Lagat, who ran the eight-kilometer course in 25:57.76. For winning the overall race, the 5’-9,” 132-pound junior from Eldoret, Kenya was awarded the Most Valuable Player award of the championship. The middle- and long-distance specialist had also won the MVP award at the 2003 SIAC Spring Track & Field Championships.

Though only the top five scores count, all six of the Morehouse runners finished in the top 10 positions. All six were named to the All-Conference team, which also included Orinthal Striggles, of Benedict College; Marcus Jackson, of Albany State University; and Michael Beattie and Derrick Miller of Clark Atlanta University.

Morehouse Head Coach Willie H. Hill was named the SIAC Cross Country Coach of the Year. His assistant coaches are Troy Berry and Chris Doomes.

With a total score of 19 points and a combined time 2:20:59.90, Morehouse finished the course well ahead of the competition. Albany State University (72 points) finished second and Clark Atlanta University (85 points) finished third in the 11-team meet. On the women’s side, Fort Valley State University repeated as champions, followed by Albany State University and Paine College.

The Flying Maroon Tigers winning team:

Alex Brickler, Freshman, Tallahassee, FL – 27:44.31
Hillary Kibet, Junior, Ndanai, Kenya – 28:29.29
Ross McMillan, Freshman, Tallahassee, FL – 28:50.58
Harold Whack, Sophomore, Flossmoor, IL – 28:56.96
Edmond Dixon, Freshman, Willingboro, NJ – 30:19.94