Over the month of July, the Top 25 Moments of the 2012-13 athletic season will be remembered each day, with the #1 moment being revealed on July 26th.
Nov. 3, 2012
LAKE WALES, Fla. -Senior
Evans Kirwa became the first student-athlete in any sport to earn Sun Conference Runner/Player of the Year honors when he won the conference meet in November for the fourth time. Kirwa, the most decorated male athlete in Embry-Riddle's athletic history, helped the Eagles to their eighth straight league title, including all four years he ran for the Blue and Gols.
Kirwa finished the race in 25:06.91, nearly a full minute in front of the second-place finisher to earn his fourth Runner of the Year honor and his fourth first team All-Sun Conference accolade.
As a freshman, Kirwa won the league meet in 26:35.95 as the Eagles scored just 18 points to win the conference crown. The Eldoret, Kenya native had a 15 second cushion over Sam Vazquez, who placed second.
Kirwa set the conference meet record as a sophomore, winning the 2010 Sun Conference Championship in 24:29.00, the ninth-fastest mark in program history. His second Runner of the Year award was the closest for the Eagle harrier as Vazquez finished just two seconds behind him to claim second place.
As a junior, Kirwa helped the Eagles to a monumental upset of SCAD Savannah with a first-place finish of 25:39.84, 55 seconds in front of the Bees' Ignacio Fernandez.
Kirwa, who ran both cross country and track for the Blue and Gold, holds 12 of the 20 fastest times in Eagle cross country history, including eight of the top 10. He became the first Eagle to earn All-America honors in cross country twice when he did so in 2009 and 2011 and was a six-time NAIA National Runner of the Week (a NAIA record). Kirwa also racked up eight track All-America accolades, putting his All-America total at 10, the most for any male athlete in Embry-Riddle Athletics' history.
