SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. ? Three Alaska Anchorage runners raced to All-America finishes Saturday at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships as the Seawolf women's and men's squads placed ninth and 11th, respectively. Both placings marked the best national finishes in the history of the UAA cross country programs.
Senior Elizabeth Chepkosgei led the women by finishing 28th in the 6K in 22 minutes, 30 seconds. Chepkosgei is the first UAA woman to earn All-America honors, while her overall placing was also the best ever for a Seawolf woman.
Junior Laura Carr finished 48th, her highest placing in three NCAA appearances. The South Bend, Ind., native crossed the finish line in a time of 23 minutes even. Sophomore Hallidie Wilt completed the race in 23:18 for 64th, while freshman Ruth Jeptoo made it easily into the top 100 with a time of 23:24 for 74th.
Rounding out the women's team was freshmen Shoshana Keegan in 123nd (24:06) and Laura Romach in 113th (24:20). Sophomore Emma Bohman finished at 174st (25:25).
Head coach Michael Friess was impressed by his team's feat.
“It was a very good run for them and a solid achievement," he said of the women's squad, which came into the meet ranked No. 13 nationally. "Their performance was groundbreaking."
On the men's side, sophomore Marko Cheseto came away with UAA's best individual performance of the day, finishing the 10K race in 31 minutes, 32 seconds for ninth place. Joining Cheseto on the All-American team was freshman Jake Parisien. Parisien completed the race in 31:43 for 17th place. Cheseto and Parisien's showings were the best-ever for any Seawolf runners at NCAAs.
Making his fourth national appearance, senior and 2007 All-American David Kiplagat finished 86th with a time of 33:01. Freshman Alfred Kangogo was Kiplagat's heels, 3 seconds behind for a 90th-place finish.
Senior Auston Ellis ran in his second nationals, finishing 132nd with a time of 33:47, to round out the scorers for UAA. Sophomore Paul Rottich ran to 159th place (34:49) and senior Mick Boyle completed his third career nationals for 162th (35:00).
Friess credited Parisien with the performance of the day. “Parisien's race was extremely impressive and a very good run for him.”
Friess was disappointed on the 11th-place finish for his men -- who entered the race ranked No. 6 -- but is looking at the positives. “We came up a little bit short, but they're a good squad that works hard. The idea is to build on this and move forward. We want to take this and build towards the track season.”
Saturday's race was run under chilly conditions on a snow-covered course with the temperature hovering in the mid-20s.
The Seawolves' previous-best team placing at NCAAs had been 12th for both teams.
