EARLYSVILLE, Va. – Lawrence Kipkoech and Amon Kemboi went 1-2 at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet on Friday to lead the Campbell men's cross country team to a fifth place finish at Panorama Farms on Friday morning. Four Fighting Camels earned all-region honors by placing in the Top-25 at the meet.
"To get four guys all-region is awesome," said head coach
Michael Kelly. "It's something that we have never come close to doing. I was very happy for them."
This is the second consecutive year that Campbell has claimed the top two spots at the regional meet, as
Amon Terer and Kipkoech went 1-2 at the 2016 meet.
The Camels' fifth place finish is the best team result at the NCAA regional meet in program history. CU has only finished in the Top-10 two other times, including a seventh place result in 2016 and a 10th place finish in 2015.
Kipkoech was in the lead pack throughout the entirety of the race and pulled in front during the final 2-kilometers of the course to earn the victory. His time of 28:45.3 is not only a lifetime best at the 10K distance, but also a program record. This is the third consecutive year that Kipkoech has claimed all-region honors.
"Lawrence had his best race of the year. Tactically, he ran one of the best races I've ever seen him run. He's super fit and it really showed for him," said Kelly. "Lawrence made his move with about 2K to go and I think it kind of surprised Amon. There was no catching Lawrence once he made his move."
Prior to Friday's race, Kipkoech's time of 28:48.8 at last year's regional meet was the second best 10K performance in Campbell cross country history.
Amon Kemboi finished right behind Kipkoech, completing the race in 28:53.8 to take second place and earn all-region honors. This was Kemboi's first 10K cross country race of his collegiate career.
Kelvin Kirui came in next for the Camels, running a personal best time of 29:37.9 to place 18th for Campbell.
Meshack Kipruto was in the Top-15 during much of the race, but slightly dropped off his pace in the final few kilometers and finished in 24th place. Kipruto crossed the finish line in a lifetime best time of 29:47.2.
Both Kirui and Kipruto earned all-region honors for the first time on Friday.
Graeme Fisher rounded out the top five for the Fighting Camels on Friday, running a 32:34.8 to place 147th in his first career 10K cross country race. This is the first race of the season in which Fisher has finished as the fifth-man for the Camels.
Hunter Gilbert was the next Camel across the finish line with a time of 32:45.9 and
Travis Gallimore clocked in at 34:03.3 for Campbell.
By going 1-2 in the regional race, Kipkoech and Kemboi each receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championship, which is set for next Saturday in Louisville, Ky. The men's team just fell short of receiving a bid to the national meet, as only Furman and Virginia Tech earned an automatic bid from the region.
"We needed our No. 5 guy a little closer for us to have a shot at qualifying. We weren't catching the top two teams today," said Kelly. "I'm super excited for Amon and Lawrence as they head to nationals next week. They'll definitely be gunning for an All-American spot and hopefully even pushing for a top-10 spot."
Kelly continued, "We had a great year. I'm very proud of what we've done as a team and as individuals. There was improvement from everyone. I'm really looking forward to having this whole squad back next year."
For the latest information about Campbell cross country, make sure to follow @GoCamelsRun on Twitter.
