Over the summer, Boaz Cheboiywo was just another Kenyan on the European circuit and not a very distinguished one at that. Now the Eastern Michigan junior is the NCAA cross country champion after a season that has seen him handle all challengers with ease. On Monday at Furman, S.C., Cheboiywo charged to a 19-second victory against Jorge Torres of Colorado.

Cheboiywo was coming back from a two-week layoff because of injury.

"I was not very confident because my hip and Achilles tendon were bothering me," he said.

His prospects got a boost when David Kimani of Alabama, another possible winner, dropped out in the early stages.

Torres, along with freshman teammate Dathan Ritzenhein (4th), led the Buffs to their first national crown by a lean one-point margin over Stanford (90-91). Alistair Cragg of Arkansas finished third. Notre Dame and Wisconsin both put two in the top 10. The Irish placed Luke Watson fifth and Ryan Shay sixth. The Badgers were led by Matt Tegenkamp (8th) and Josh Spiker (9th). Meanwhile, much heralded Alan Webb of Michigan placed 10th.

The Razorback men placed third with 118 points, as Northern Arizona (193) and Wisconsin (245) took the next two spots in the 31-team field.

Brigham Young ran to a crushing victory on the women's side, scoring 62 points to the 148 of runner-up North Carolina State. Georgetown (180), Arizona (194) and Stanford (206) filled out the top five. Stanford led the polls going in and ended up with its worst showing since 1995.

Arizona senior Tara Chaplin (20:24) ran to a seven-second victory against Renee Metivier of Georgia Tech on the six-kilometer course. Stanford's Lauren Fleschman took third in 20:35. BYU put three into the top 10: Michelle Manova (5th in 20:42), Jessie Kindschi (7th in 20:49) and Tara Northcutt (9th in 20:55).

The races were exciting; they were championships, after all. And they will be just as exciting when they finally reach the TV screen in January, after we have forgotten how they turned out.

Tulu scores in Tokyo
This weekend also saw Ethiopia's Derartu Tulu use her fast finish to capture the Tokyo Ladies Marathon. She clocked 2:25:08 to avenge her third-place finish the year before. Behind her, personal records went to Irina Timofeyeva of Russia (2:25:29) and Bruna Genovese of Italy (2:25:35). Tulu, troubled by a leg cramp, started her kick much later than she had expected. "This was not my plan," she said.

Kim McDonald's passing
The death of British agent Kim McDonald has stranded many top athletes and left all who knew him stunned. He was found in his Brisbane apartment, dead of a heart attack at age 45.

McDonald started out as an athlete, but he soon proved to be a better coach. He helped bring Peter Elliott to prominence as one of the world's top middle distance runners. As an athlete manager, however, he made his biggest impact, becoming one of the most trusted and influential representatives for Kenyan runners.

He will be missed.

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