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UFS are new student cross-country champions

26 September 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Supplied

Kovsies Women Cross-Country Team Marné Mentz, Vicky Oelofse, and Channah du Plessis — Marné Mentz, Ts’epang Sello, and Tyler Beling played a huge role in Kovsies' cross-country champions win.

After coming within a whisker of claiming the title in 2018, the University of the Free State’s (UFS) runners ensured that the University Sports South Africa (USSA) cross-country trophy comes to Bloemfontein in 2019.

Kovsies are the new national student cross-country champions after they (men and women combined) won the USSA Championships in Nelspruit on Saturday, 21 September. Kovsies and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) both finished with three gold medals at the same event in 2018. UJ finished with nine overall medals compared to the eight (three gold, two silver, and three silver) of the UFS, who had to settle for second place. In 2017, the UFS finished third.

The Kovsie women’s team played a huge role in carrying the team to the top of the medal table, winning four golds. They won the 4 km and 10 km women’s team competitions as well as the road relay. The top three places by the runners of a university determined the team winner.

Marné Mentz’s gold medal in the four-kilometre race at the
USSA Cross Country Championships helped the Kovsies
win the overall title.

Marné Mentz (first), Vicky Oelofse (fifth), and Channah du Plessis (sixth) dominated the four-kilometre race. In the 10 km, Ts’epang Sello (third), Tyler Beling (sixth), and Lizandré Mulder (seventh) did enough to ensure another gold for the Free State students. Mentz, Sello, and Beling jointly took first place in the road relay.

In the 10-km race for men, Kovsies came fifth, with Victor Makhabesela the best performer (finishing ninth). Pakiso Mthembu, one of the contenders for the medal who won the silver medal at the National Cross Country Championships two weeks before, had to withdraw after 7 km in the race due to an injury.

News Archive

KovsieSport Director named as top SA coach

2014-06-27

DB Prinsloo

Director of KovsieSport, DB Prinsloo, was named as South Africa’s Coach of the Year. He is currently coaching the renowned Johan Cronjé – the best SA men’s athlete for 2013, member of the SA Commonwealth team for 2014 and a former Kovsie. Last year Prinsloo was also the team coach for the South African team that competed in Moscow at the world championships.
Several of South Africa’s leading athletes are trained by Prinsloo. Apart from the loads of medals his athletes won at national championships, he trained quite a few athletes who donned the green and gold. Boy Soke and Dumisane Hlaselo are among them.

Furthermore, four of the ten leading athletes in the junior rankings of all times are current and former athletes of Prinsloo. He even trained top-class athletes such as René Kalmer and Annerie Ebersohn.

Since his high school years, Prinsloo had a great passion for athletics. He was himself an excellent athlete and used to be a former South African senior 3 000 m steeplechase champion.

Johan Cronjé’s performance on the track is a good example of Prinsloo’s talent as coach. Last year Cronjé was the only South African to win a medal at the World athletics championships in Russia, with his third place in the 1500 m. In addition, Cronje improved the South African record in the 1 500 m twice last year under Prinsloo’s guidance. Cronjé recently improved Johan Fourie’s 27-year-old South African mile record (1987: 3:50,82) to 3:50,70.

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