SPARTANBURG — Faith Jeptoo brought home champion honors as one of four top-ten UNCP finishers to help lead the women's squad to a championship, while the men's squad took runner-up honors Saturday morning at the Conference Carolinas Championships at Milliken Research Park.

Jeptoo was named Runner of the Year as she covered the 6K course in 21:53.0. Jana Zett took third at 22:16.1 and was named Freshman of the Year, while Malea Bennewitz took fifth with a personal-best time of 22:36.4. Reid Harvey-McKean was eighth at 23:05.6, Sarra Belgacem took 16th with a time of 23:39.7, while Sophia Olszak was 20th at 23:54.2. Kayla Barnhardt (25:45.2) was 51st, Devyn Soles (26:42.1) took 67th, with Lizzy Laurine (29:35.4) in 90th. Cindy Lopez-Vargas crossed in 96th with a time of 31:04.6, while LaNiya Harris rounding out the UNCP finishers with a personal-best time of 32:16.5 to take 101st.

Jeptoo (1st Team), Zett (1st Team), Bennewitz (1st Team), Harvey-McKean (2nd), Belgacem (3rd Team), and Olszak (3rd Team) each brought home All-Conference honors. Jeptoo's time was the eighth-fastest 6K in school history, while Zett (14th) and Bennewitz (21st) also entered the program's top-25 list.

The women's squad tallied 33 points to bring home their first conference championship since the 1991 team won the Carolinas Conference title. Head coach, Dr. Peter Ormsby, earned his first Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. The honor marks his fifth overall Coach of the Year award.

On the men's side, Kelvin Kibet was the top UNCP finisher in the 8K race taking sixth with a time of 25:23.4. Ed Carney (25:44.1), Ryan Ibarra (25:47.5), and Charlie Miller (personal-best 25:54.2) finished 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively. Payden Lewis took 17th with a personal-best 26:00.6, Jared Bekkering was 36th with a personal-best time of 26:48.8, with Daniel Mejias finishing 39th at a personal-best 26:51.8. Alex Boyer crossed in 43rd with a time of 27:02.8, with Evan Craig in 56th at a personal-best 27:32.1. JP Marquez was 77th with a personal-best 28:29.4, while Jacob Jones rounded out the UNCP finishers in 85th with a personal-best time of 29:04.

Kibet (1st Team), Carney (2nd Team), Ibarra (2nd Team), Miller (2nd Team), and Lewis (3rd Team) each earned All-Conference honors.

The men's squad tallied 59 points to take second behind Young Harris, who picked up 52 points.

The Braves will now turn their attention to the NCAA Southeast Regional races as they head back to Milliken Research Park on Saturday, November 21.