WINGATE – Silus Kipkoech needed just more than 31 minutes to establish himself as the top runner in the region on Saturday morning as the freshman turned in the 9^th-fastest 10K mark in school history on the way to the NCAA Southeast Region Championship.
 
The finish ensures that Kipkoech, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, will represent the Braves at the NCAA Division II National Championships on November 18 in Evansville, Ind. He joins former all-American and Rio Olympian Pardon Ndhlovu as the only runners in the NCAA Division II era (1993-present) at UNCP to compete at the NCAA's premier event.
 
Kipkoech's time (31:23.55) was less than a second better than the rest of the 153-man field as Nick Kipkemei of Queens finished in the runner-up spot with a time of 31:24.43. Logan Ward crossed in 34^th place for the Braves with a time of 33:36.41, while Matthew Martin turned in a time 34:04.35 to finish 44^th. Jonathan Martin (53^rd, 34:22.89) and Nate Nash (77^th, 35:13.00) rounded out the scoring for the Black & Gold.
 
On the women's side, Michaela Reynolds turned in a 6K time of 24:36.17 and finished 51^st out of 159 runners to lead the Braves to a ninth place finish on the team leaderboard – their best showing at the event since 2013. The top three runners for the Black & Gold crossed within four seconds of each other as Kristin Cain (52^nd) crossed with a mark of 24:37.15 and freshman Molly McCann (53^rd) covered the 6K course in 24:40.45.
 
Freshmen Riley Axe (64^th, 24:57.29) and Shelby McMurray (96^th, 26:01.84) rounded out the team scoring for UNCP.
 
 
NCAA SOUTHEAST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS
(UNCP Results Only)
 
MEN'S 10K RACE (TOP FINISHER: SILUS KIPKOECH, UNCP – 31:23.55)
1. Silus Kipkoech – 31:23.55
34. Logan Ward – 33:36.41
44. Matthew Martin – 34:04.35
53. Jonathan Martin – 34:22.89
77. Nate Nash – 35:13.00
114. Ean Ormsby – 36:54.21
 
 
WOMEN'S 6K RACE (TOP FINISHER: LEAH HANLE, MOUNT OLIVE – 21:15.43)
51. Michaela Reynolds – 24:36.17
52. Kristin Cain – 24:37.15
53. Molly McCann – 24:40.45
64. Riley Axe – 24:57.29
96. Shelby McMurray – 26:01.84
110. Sam Badami – 26:30.07
113. Corey Pethers – 26:45.63