MEMPHIS, Tenn. (September 3, 2023) – The University of North Alabama men's cross country team ran in the late hours of a Saturday night in Memphis, opening its 2023 season with a sixth place finish at the City Auto Memphis Twilight XC Classic.
UNA had a respectable finish in a 19-team field, finishing with 190 points for a comfortable lead on Harding (221), Arkansas State (228) and Ole Miss (283) to round out the top half of teams.
Pacing the Lions were a pair of experience graduate runners in
Fedrick Kipyego and
Brandon Lee. Kipyego led the Purple & Gold with a time of 20:51.50 to place 23rd, while Lee finished at 21:01.62 for 30th. The top 30 finishes come against an impressive field of 190 runners.
Rounding out UNA's top four scorers was junior
Noah Bonsall and true freshman
Brent Lyons with back-to-back times of 21:19.34 and 21:19.88 to place 42nd and 43rd, respectively. Junior
Connor Jackson added a 52nd place finish at 21:32.30.
UNA had two other runners finish together in the top 70 of the deep field, as sophomore
Jackson Hamlin crossed at 21:46.94 and junior teammate
Mason Schrader clocked in at 21:48.92.
Alabama was the winner of the men's race with 60 points, followed by MTSU (99), Memphis (144), UT Martin (145) and Ouachita Baptist (154) to round out the top five. Geta Habtamu and Brian Kiptoo placed one and two for MTSU to lead the pack.
The Lions are home next Saturday, Sept. 9 for the UNA Invitational hosted at McFarland Park in Florence. The event is open to the public free of charge. The women begin at 7:45 a.m. followed by the men at 8:30 a.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
