2007
Had a sensational cross country campaign in 2007, earning all-region and All-SEC honors en route to qualifying for the NCAA Championships as an individual … Was just the sixth Tiger in program history, and the first since the 2001 season, to qualify for the national meet … Went on to finish 68th at the national championships, finishing the 10K course in 30:54.2 … His top 10K time of the season came at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships (29:52.1) … Time was good enough for an eighth-place finish and all-region honors … Was named a second-team All-SEC selection after placing 10th at the conference championships with a time of 24:23.73 … Was the Tigers’ top finisher in every race … Posted six top-15 finishes, including a win at the LSU Tiger Festival (24:51.55) … Top 8K time of the year was a 23:56.93 clocking at the Auburn Tiger Invitational.
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, Kansas, 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 … Will pursue a degree in psychology at LSU.