LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Lawrence Kipkoech and
Amon Kemboi earned All-America honors on Saturday by placing in the top-40 at the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Ky., at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.
This is the second consecutive year in which two Campbell athletes have garnered All-America accolades at the national meet. Last year, Kipkoech and former Camel Amon Terer collected All-America honors at the NCAA Championship.
"They got out hard with the front pack, but kind of tucked in instead of trying to lead the race," said head coach
Michael Kelly. "That was perfect. That's exactly what we wanted to do."
Kelly continued, "I wasn't sure what the strategy for this race was going to be. They took it hard from the gun. The first mile was like 4:31, which is blazing fast. I'm really proud that the guys were able to hang in there and finish as low as they did in this race. The top-10 finish for Lawrence was definitely one of our goals. And for Kemboi to get All-America as a freshman is quite a feat."
Kipkoech was within the top-10 throughout the entire 10K race, finishing in ninth place with a time of 29:34.5 to earn his second consecutive All-America accolade. The Eldoret, Kenya, native was as high as seventh place at the 8K split and managed to stay with the leaders through the finish line.
"The race went the way I had planned. It started out really fast, but I tried to stay calm and relaxed during the race. I'm glad I came out with another All-America," said Kipkoech.
His placement is the highest finish in program history by a Campbell cross country athlete at the national meet. Kipkoech's 26th place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships was previously the best placement by a CU athlete.
Kemboi was in the leading pack during the first 4-kilometers of the race, but he fell off his pace in the final 6K to finish in 29th place in his debut at the NCAA Championships. He clocked in at 29:52.1 to earn his first All-America accolade of his career.
"I ran with the pack and stuck with the race plan. Being an All-American as a freshman is a great achievement. I'm hoping to do better as time goes on," said Kemboi.
Syracuse's Justyn Knight took home the individual crown in the men's race, as he crossed the finish line with a time of 29:00. Northern Arizona captured the team title on Saturday with three runners in the top-10.
This meet marks the end of the 2017 cross country season. Up next, the cross country athletes will join the track and field athletes to prepare for the 2017-18 indoor season. For the latest information about Campbell cross country, make sure to follow @GoCamelsRun on Twitter.
