FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – True freshman
Matro Jepkemboi continues her historic rookie campaign, as she claims the best individual finish in program history at the NCAA South Central Regional after finishing third and punching her ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia next Saturday, November 18.
"Matro took her ability to another level," commented head coach John Sauerhage. "She showed a lot of heart and poise the last half of the race, holding off some very talented athletes."
Jepkemboi is the fourth woman in program history to make the cross country nationals and is the highest finisher at regionals ever. The other three women to make nationals for the Mavericks are Angela Nelson, Kristin Ahlepil and Jodi Hulett. Jepkemboi finished with a blistering time of 20:15.8.
As a team, the women's cross country team finished in 8th place out of 24 teams with 215 points.
Rounding out the top five for the women were
Mercy Biwott who finished 33rd with a time of 21:31.4, just shy of besting her PR.
Winnie Kipsang came in 41st with a time of 21:49.7 while
Lauren Walls-Portillo finished 63rd overall with a time of 22:15.6.
Claire Compher placed 95th with a time of 22:48.4.
On the men's side, they came in 9th out of 25 teams with 292 points. The theme of the 10k for the men was personal records, as the top five finishers for the men all posted new personal bests at regionals.
Patrick Estes paced the Mavs with a time of 30:45.8 and a 33rd place finish.
Rogelio Aguirre came in 46th with a time of 31:05.6. Coming in at 66th was
Brian Guevara with a mark of 31:39.7 while
Josue Granados posted a time of 31:55.5 which had him finish 78th overall. Rounding out the top five for the Mavs was
Jackson Cichon who came in 82nd with a time of 32:01.0.
NEXT UP
The NCAA Cross Country Championships are on the horizon for Jepkemboi, taking place next Saturday, November 18, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
– #BuckEm –
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