Men’s Cross Country Claims Central Region Championship
JOPLIN, Mo. – The East Central University men's cross country team continues to etch their names in history as the program swept the individual and team championship at the 2023 NCAA Division II Central Region Championships hosted by Missouri Southern State University on Saturday.
Results
While the Tigers had previously claimed second place in 2011 and 2015, this year marked a monumental turning point as ECU emerged victorious, making them the inaugural GAC men's cross country team to clinch a regional championship alongside the individual title.
The ECU men's team has been a force to be reckoned with all season, winning four out of their five events while proudly holding the fifth position in national rankings.
"Our depth is our strength with this team and it definitely showed when we had a rough day and could still hold on for the win," Head Coach
Steve Sawyer said. "We have a few to get healed up before nationals in a few weeks. When they heal, we will have a good shot to finish high."
Peter Kipkemboi won his first individual regional championship by running the 10k course in a time of 29:46.9. Kipkemboi secured a 4.6-second lead over the regional runner-up from Augustana while also anchoring a dominant team performance by the Tigers who positioned their five scoring runners inside the top-20 individual finishers.
ECU's five scorers took positions 1-3-8-12-16 to give the Tigers 40 points while their closest competitors, Pittsburg State, filed behind with 112 points.
Amos Pkiach, who had previously claimed 16
th place in the Central Region last year, crossed the finish line in an impressive third place recording a time of 29:53.6. Following closely behind was
Oliver Kiptoo, who came in eighth place with a time of 30:32.8, and
Aspel Kiprob, who clinched the 12
th spot in 30:52.1. The strong finish was capped off by
Paul Korir who secured 16
th place with a time of 31:03.3. Notably, all five runners earned All-Region honors by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as well as
Melvin Kipkemboi who crossed the line in 21
st in a time of 31:10.8.
Michael Iyali added the finishing touch to the Tiger performance with a 60th-place finish in 32:24.8.
The ECU men's team will return to Joplin, Missouri in two weeks to compete at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18.
