GAINESVILLE, Fla. (November 10, 2023) – The University of North Alabama cross country program concluded the fall season in Gainesville, Fla. on Friday morning, competing in NCAA South Regional races hosted by the University of Florida.
 
Against top competition from the Southeast region — including Division I teams from the states of Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi — the Lions finished 27th on the women's side and 22nd on the men's side.
 
In the women's race, UNA finished behind UAB but edged out another in-state rival Jacksonville State by five points. The Lions also finished ahead of conference rival Austin Peay by a wide margin. All five of UNA's top runners clocked personal 6K records.
 
The women's squad was led by junior Janeth Jepkirui with a time of 21:30.2, while fellow junior Gracie Mathews followed behind her at 21:34.3. A trio of seniors rounded out UNA's top five with Emily Daniel at 22:37.7, followed by Sage Betts at 22:55.1 and Valerie Grosso at 23:04.5.
 
On the men's side, UNA finished just two points behind South Alabama but once again placed ahead of the Gamecocks.
 
UNA's top finisher in either race today was graduate runner Fedrick Kipyego with a top 100 showing. He placed 85th with a time of 31:31.1 to edge out a pair of runners from Miami, Georgia and FGCU on his heels.
 
Kipyego was followed by graduate running mate Brandon Lee with a personal best 10K time of 32:12.8. Juniors Connor Jackson and Adam Nipper were next for UNA, while sophomore Jackson Hamlin rounded out UNA's top five. Jackson also had a PR of 32:55.7, while Nipper and Hamlin were first time 10K competitors at the collegiate level.
 
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