CHARLOTTE – Sophomore Joshua Chepkesir obliterated a nearly year-old school record mark in the 8K on the way to his second meet title in as many races and paced the UNC Pembroke men's cross country team to a ninth place finish at the prestigious Royals Challenge on Friday evening in Charlotte.
 
On the women's side, Erman Jepleting was the top performer for the Black & Gold with a 58^th-place showing as the Braves finished 24^th among a 63-team field.
 
The men's squad finished third among NCAA Southeast Region teams competing at Friday's event, with 21^st-ranked Mount Olive combining for a runner-up finish and Queens finishing third. The women were sixth among NCAA Southeast Region teams at the event.
  
Chepesir's mark of 23:22.7 was 44 seconds better than teammate Silus Kipkoech's previous school record (24:06) in the 8K as the Kenyan out-paced the rest of the 545-man field by more than a minute. Kipkoech crossed in 8th place with a time of 24:15.7, and Mat Maier shaved nearly two minutes off of his previous personal best with a mark of 25:37.1 and a 76th place finish. Tirus Kirwa covered the 8K course in 26:25.7 (155th place), while Hunter Levy also ran a personal best time of 26:32.9 and rounded out the scoring for the Black & Gold in 167th place.
 
Veteran Jarett Arabie finished 180th with a time of 26:39.5, while Will Stratton's time of 26:58 landed the newcomer a 216^th-place showing. Delsin Burkhart (27:15.4) and Holden Newman (27:19.2) finished 247^th and 255^th, respectively, and Adam Lindee (29:03.7) walked away in 393^rd place.
 
Jepleting covered the women's course in 18:41.5 - the third-best women's 5K time in school history – while sophomore Skylar Moreno earned a 123rd place finish with a mark of 19:16.1. Valary Samoei (19:22.6) and Riley Axe (19:35.5) crossed in 138^th and 165^th place, respectively, and teammate Sam Badami was in 257th place with a time of 20:30.4.
 
The Braves rounded out their part of the competition with a 346th place finish from Shelby McMurray (21:38.5) and a 426^th-place showing from newcomer Brookelyn Johnson (22:57.3).

The Braves will get a two-week reprieve from competition before suiting up to host the Peach Belt Conference Championships on October 26 at Lumberton's Luther Britt Park. The women's race will get underway at 9 a.m., with the men set to compete at approximately 10:15.


 

ROYALS CHALLENGE (OCTOBER 11)
WOMEN'S 5K		MEN'S 8K
Winner: Hannah Steelman, Wofford (16:48.3)		Winner: Joshua Chepkesir, UNC Pembroke (24:17.2)
58	! Erman Jepleting, 18:41.5	1	! $ Joshua Chepkesir, 23:22.7
123	Skylar Moreno, 19:16.1	8	Silus Kipkoech, 24:15.7
138	! Valary Samoei, 19:22.6	76	! Mat Maier, 25:37.1
165	Riley Axe, 19:35.5	155	! Tirus Kirwa, 26:25.7
257	Sam Badami, 20:30.4	167	! Hunter Levy, 26:32.9
346	Shelby McMurray, 21:38.5	180	! Jarett Arabie,  26:39.5
426	! Brookelyn Johnson, 22:57.3	216	! Will Stratton, 26:58.0
		247	! Delsin Burkhart,  27:15.4
		255	! Holden Newman, 27:17.2
		393	! Adam Lindee, 29:03.7
! = Personal Best		$ = School Record ! = Personal Best