Joseph Simuchimba Season 2007

Events: 3,000M (IN: 8:23.24; OUT: 8:25.56), 5,000M (IN: 14:24.46; OUT: 14:19.96), 10,000M (29:39.83)

CAREER CAPSULE
A distance runner who earned two letters for the Tigers from 2007-08 … Enjoyed a career-best performance at the 2007 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in which he placed third in the 10,000 meters … Finished his collegiate career with personal bests of 8:23.24 in the 3,000 meters, 14:19.96 in the 5,000 meters and 29:39.83 in the 10,000 meters … Ranks fifth on the school’s all-time outdoor performance list in the 10,000 meters … Also ranks sixth on the school’s all-time indoor performance list in the 5,000 meters … Became just the seventh Tiger in program history to compete at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2007 … Finished the national meet in 68th place with a time of 30:54.2 at the 10k course … Earned all-conference and all-region honors in cross country in 2007.

2008
Set indoor personal bests in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during the 2008 season … Placed 11th in the 3,000 meters at the Razorback Invitational with a time of 8:23.24 … Scored two points for the Tigers with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships … Clocked the sixth-fastest time in school history at 14:24.46 in the conference final … Also ran the 5k at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational (14:41.96) and Tyson Invitational (14:24.92) during the indoor season … Also earned a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the SEC Outdoor Championships (30:02.74) … Placed 24th in the 5,000 meters at the SEC Outdoor meet, crossing the finish line in 14:43.31 … Set an outdoor seasonal-best time of 14:31.24 in winning the 5,000 meters at the Tiger Invitational … Also won the 5,000-meter title at the Willie Williams Classic (14:35.89) … Ran the 1,500 meters at the LSU Tiger Relays (4:00.41) and LSU Alumni Gold (4:04.86) during the outdoor season.

2007
Proved to be the Tigers’ top distance runner in his first season in the purple and gold … Ran the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during the indoor season … Finished the season as the seventh-ranked performer in school history in the indoor 5,000 meters with a new personal best and seasonal-best time of 14:36.35 at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships … Won the 3,000-meter title at the Bayou Bengal Invitational (8:42.85) … Clocked an indoor seasonal-best time of 8:24.93 at the SEC Championships … Cracked the school’s all-time Top 10 list with personal bests in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters during the outdoor season … Moved into the No. 10 spot on the all-time list in the 5,000 meters with a seasonal-best time of 14:19.96 at the SEC Outdoor Championships … Placed sixth in the event at the conference meet … Won 5,000-meter titles at the LSU Tiger Relays (14:44.33) and LSU Alumni Gold (14:21.96) … Clocked the seventh-fastest 10,000-meter time in school history at the 113th Penn Relays, crossing the finish line in fifth place at 29:39.83 … Helped the Tigers to a runner-up finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish in the event with a time of 30:15.60 … Ran the 3,000 meters at one meet during the outdoor season, finishing third at the Sun Angel Classic with a time of 8:25.56.

PRIOR TO LSU
One of the nation’s top distance runners at the junior college level while competing for head coach Mike Gray at Central Arizona Junior College… Won a national title in cross country as he finished first in the 8k race at the 2005 National Cross Country Championships in Lawrence, Kan., with a time of 24 minutes, 32.47 seconds … Led the Vaqueros to their third NJCAA Men’s Cross Country National Championship in four years with his performance … Followed that success by finishing in fifth place individually and guiding his team to a runner-up finish in the team standings at the national meet in 2006 … Also helped his team win its third national championship at the 2006 NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meters and a fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meters … Finished his career at Central Arizona as a four-time NJCAA All-American selection in both cross country and track and field … Has also enjoyed a successful career on the international stage as he competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2002 and 2004 … Won a silver medal in the 12k senior men’s race at the 2004 South African Regional Cross Country Championships in Mbabane, Swaziland.

PERSONAL
Full name is Joseph Simuchimba Chizi … Born on Jan. 1, 1985 … Japhet Simchimba and Willness Namukoko … Has five siblings: Webster, Jenipher, Simon, Happy and Njanwa.