Collins Kiprop Kipngok Completes First NCAA Championship Appearance
MADISON, Wis. – Freshman Collins Kiprop Kipngok completed his first career NCAA Cross Country Championship race on Saturday morning, closing out the Kentucky Cross Country season with a 187th place finish in the Men’s 10k in 30:38.6. Kiprop Kipngok became the first Wildcat to race in the Men’s 10k at the national meet since Jacob Thomson in 2016.
“The chaos and competitiveness of the day probably got to Collins a bit during the race,” Coach Hakon DeVries reflected after the race. “This will be a good experience and a good lesson for the future. I’m really proud of his for making it here at look forward to having the whole team in Missouri with him next year.”
This season, Kiprop Kipngok earned USTFCCCA All-Region, garnered SEC All-Freshman team honors, and took home the individual title at the Bradley Pink Classic in a meet record time. The Nakuru, Kenya native qualified for the National Championships after a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional on November 15th.
For the third time in the championship’s history, the NCAA Division I Cross Country meet was hosted in Madison, Wisconsin by the University of Wisconsin. The Thomas Zimmer Championship Course was the racing ground for today’s championship, hosting the event on its grounds for the second time, and the first since 2018.
BYU swept the Men’s and Women’s team titles in Madison, while Graham Blanks defended his individual title from a season ago with the win in the Men’s 10k.
Kiprop Kipngok and the rest of Kentucky Cross Country will continue the 2024-25 athletic season beginning in December, as the Track & Field/Cross Country program shifts to the Indoor calendar. The distance squad will open the Track & Field season on December 7 at the Sharon Colyer-Danville Opener in Boston, Mass., while the rest of the Wildcats will commence the 2024-25 season on December 11 in ‘The Dual’ in Louisville, Ky.
Results
- Collins Kiprop Kipngok – 30:38.6
