NEW ORLEANS, La. – All-Region honorees for the 2023 NCAA Division I Cross Country season were recognized on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following Regional Championships Friday, with Matro Jepkemboi being the lone representative for the Mavericks.
 
A total of 225 men from 89 different programs and 225 women from 99 different programs earned the distinction of All-Region by virtue of a top-25 finish at one of the nine regional sites this past weekend. Only athletes from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.
 
Jepkemboi has been stringing together one of the most memorable seasons for the UT Arlington cross country program after she finished third at the NCAA South Central Regional, the best individual finish in program history.
 
In her first season in the blue and orange, Jepkemboi has made an immediate impact and been one of the pillars for the team this season. She was named the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year.
 
Out of the seven races on the cross country schedule this season, Jepkemboi has ran in all but one, the John McKenzie Invitational hosted by TCU at the very beginning of the season. During those six races that she's competed in, Jepkemboi has finished in the top-10 in every single race, including a pair of second place finishes in her first two career races.
 
At the 2023 WAC Cross Country Championships, Jepkemboi did not disappoint. Finishing fourth overall with a time of 20:33.5, she helped lead the team to a third place finish after they were selected to finish fourth in the pre-championship coaches polls.
 
In her first collegiate race at the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational, Jepkemboi posted a UTA personal best in the 5k at 17:22.2 and finished second overall. She would later go on to smash her PR at the massive Chile Pepper Festival hosted by Arkansas, where she posted a time of 17:03.3 and finished sixth amongst some of the biggest cross country programs and runners in the nation. She helped spearhead the best team finish ever at the Chile Pepper where the women finished fourth overall.
 
At the Arturo Barrios Invite, Jepkemboi would post a personal best in the 6k, finishing with a time of 19:49.2 and finishing fifth overall.
 
Jepkemboi will run in the NCAA Cross Country Championships this Saturday, November 18, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
   
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