BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Amon Kemboi and
Lawrence Kipkoech will close out the cross country season on Saturday as the duo races for a national title at the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky. The men's 10K is slated to get underway at 10 a.m. EST at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.
This is the third time that the NCAA Championships have taken place at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. The race was also held at the venue in 2012 and 2015.
Kipkoech and Kemboi automatically qualified for the national meet after going 1-2 at the NCAA Southeast Regional last Saturday in Earlysville, Va. Kipkoech finished the 10K race in a school record time of 28:45.3 to claim the regional title and earn regional athlete of the year honors.
Kemboi followed closely behind, crossing the finish line in second place with a time of 28:53.8. The Kapsabet, Kenya, native's time is the third best time in program history, trailing only Kipkoech and former Camel Amon Terer.
This will be Kipkoech's third consecutive appearance in the national meet, as he also qualified in 2015 and 2016. At last year's NCAA Championships, Kipkoech earned All-America honors after placing 26th with a time of 30:13.8. He clocked in at 31:13.9 in the 2015 meet to place 131st. Kemboi, a freshman, will make his national championship debut on Saturday.
Headed into Saturday's meet, Kemboi and Kipkoech are ranked No. 11 and No. 22, respectively, according to the latest FloTrack individual rankings. After his title at the NCAA Southeast Regional, Kipkoech re-entered the rankings after dropping out on Oct. 17.
The duo will have familiarity with the course, as they raced at the same venue earlier in the season at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Kemboi placed third among an elite field of competitors with a 20-second personal best of 23:11.9 at the 8K distance. Kipkoech was 23rd with a time of 23:32.8.
The national meet will be broadcast live on FloTrack.com, following a recently announced partnership between the NCAA and FloTrack. Fans can watch the meet with a FloTrack Pro subscription for the monthly price of $19.99 or annual price of $150.
Live stats of the meet will also be available and can be accessed
here. For up-to-the-minute of the NCAA Championships, make sure to follow
@GoCamelsRun on Twitter.
Fans in the area can purchase tickets for the event upon arriving at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Tickets are $10 per person and must be paid in cash.
Up next, the Campbell cross country athletes will join the track and field athletes in preparation for the indoor season.
