Men’s Cross Country Captures Back-to-Back Central Region Titles, Women Conclude Season With 13th-Place Finish
JOPLIN, Missouri – The East Central University cross country program turned in impressive performances at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships, hosted by Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. The women's team finished 13
th out of 31 teams, while the men's team dominated once again, claiming back-to-back regional titles with a first-place finish.
The Tigers have previously claimed second place in 2011 and 2015, but this marks ECU's second consecutive regional championship – a rare achievement, with Henderson State University's women's golf being the only other program to accomplish this feat across all sports in the GAC, winning three consecutive regional titles from 2022 to 2024.
ECU secured the top spot with 71 total points, edging out Northwest Missouri who finished second with 76 points. Pittsburg State placed third with 103 points, and Washburn, Nebraska-Kearney, and Harding followed in a tight pack, separated by just one point each, finishing with 175, 176, and 177 points, respectively.
Despite battling injuries throughout the season, ECU's depth remained a key strength, as their top five scoring runners all finished within striking distance in the top-20.
Melvin Kipkemboi led ECU this year with a 10
th-place finish in a time of 30:47.07, improving on his performance from last year's regional meet.
Brian Mitei followed in 13
th (30:53.30) for his first Central Region representing ECU, while
Paul Korir placed 15
th (30:53.98),
Amos Pkiach took 16
th (30:58.98), and reigning Central Region Champion
Peter Kipkemboi finished 17
th (31:01.91).
Oliver Kiptoo and
Michael Iyali also contributed to the Tigers' strong showing, with 18
th and 24
th place finishes at 31:02.31 and 31:22.41, respectively.
Notably, all seven of ECU's runners earned All-Region honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. This extraordinary achievement marks the first time in program history that all seven runners received such a recognition, surpassing last year's total of six honorees.
"The men's race was a complete team victory," Head Coach
Steve Sawyer said. "From 1-7 it took every one of them to squeeze out the win. Northwest Missouri and Pittsburg State were tough! They both got a huge lead on us through their top three runners. We had to battle back after being in third place at the half way point. Our team ran together today and trusted in one another and that was the difference."
Looking ahead, the ECU men's team will now prepare for their second appearance at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Sacramento, California on Saturday, Nov. 23 as they look to continue their historic run.
On the women's side,
Aurelia Jepkorir earned her first career All-Region honor, finishing 25
th in 21:48.84, beating her time from last year (21:57.42).
Naomy Limatukei placed 37
th with a time of 21:59.48, while
Carolyne Kimaiyo also finished within top-100, placing 74
th with a time of 22:44.00. Rounding out the runners for ECU was
Stephanie Ojo in 114
th and
Sharon Jesang in 136
th.
"The women's race was not what we expected. Unfortunately for us the Central Region field for the women is very stacked. It is hard to find any weaknesses across the entire region. However, we still fought hard and ended up a little better on the GAC team standing than we did at the conference championships as we finished second among GAC schools. I will miss this group of seniors. They are great girls who work hard and will always have a place to call home at ECU."
