March 29, 1999
BELFAST - Arizona State freshmen Fasil Bizuneh and Isaiah Festa were the top two American finishers at the 1999 IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships, held Sunday in Belfast. Bizuneh finished 25th overall and Festa 30th, as the United States squad finished sixth. Festa clocked a 28:02 on the 10K course, 2:24 behind champion Hailu Mekonnen (Ethiopia), while Festa finished in 28:13. Kenya captured the team title, claiming four of the top six places.
Bizuneh and Festa are the first Sun Devils to ever compete at the World Junior Cross Country Championships and are two of five freshmen to lead ASU to its highest Pac-10 finish in school history during the 1998 season.