WINGATE – Sophomore
Joshua Chepkesir captured his second consecutive region title after turning in the second fastest 10K time in school history and led the UNC Pembroke men's cross country team to a seventh place showing on Saturday morning at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships.
On the women's side,
Erman Jepleting (10
th) and
Skylar Moreno (21
th) both raked in all-region honors with top-25 showings to pace the Braves to an eighth-place finish.
Chepkesir registered a time of 30:30.7 to capture his second all-region honor, while also posting just the third sub-31-minute 10K performance in the history of the program.
Silus Kipkoech picked up all-region honors as well with a time of 31:54.8 and a 12
th place finish. Freshman
Tirus Kirwa crossed in 58
th place with a time of 34:07.8, while
Jarett Arabie (34:19.7) and
Mat Maier (34:25.7) rounded out the scoring for the Braves in 65
th and 70
th place, respectively.
Will Stratton (76
th) covered the 10K course in 34:42.3, while freshman teammate
Hunter Levy (78
th) finished the race in 34:48.7.
Jepleting (22:40.8) covered the 6K course with the 7
th-fastest time in the history of the UNCP for the women's program on the way to a 10
th place finish, while
Skylar Moreno was 21
st with a time of 23:06.1. Freshman
Valary Samoei (24:03.9) crossed in 55
th place, while
Riley Axe (24:23.9) and
Sam Badami (24:57.7) rounded out the scoring for the Black & Gold in 66
th and 87
th place, respectively.
Shelby McMurray (26:27.5) came away with a 116
th-place finish.
By virtue of his region title, Chepkesir has automatically qualified to compete as an individual at the NCAA Division II Championships on November 23 in Sacramento, Calif. Possible additional at-large nominations will be announced next week.
| NCAA SOUTHEAST REGION CHAMPIONSHIP (NOVEMBER 9) |
| WOMEN'S 6K |
MEN'S 10K |
| Winner: Leah Hanle, Mount Olive (20:53) |
Winner: Joshua Chepkesir, UNC Pembroke (30:30.7) |
| 10 |
! Erman Jepleting, 22:40.8 |
1 |
! Joshua Chepkesir,30:30.7 |
| 21 |
! Skylar Moreno, 23:06.1 |
12 |
Silus Kipkoech, 31:54.8 |
| 55 |
Valary Samoei, 24:03.9 |
58 |
! Tirus Kirwa, 34:07.8 |
| 66 |
! Riley Axe, 24:23.9 |
65 |
! Jarett Arabie, 34:19.7 |
| 87 |
! Sam Badami, 24:57.7 |
70 |
! Mat Maier, 34:25.7 |
| 116 |
Shelby McMurray, 26:27.5 |
76 |
! Will Stratton, 34:42.3 |
|
|
78 |
! Hunter Levy, 34:48.7 |
|
! = Personal Best |
