Ed Bird, Collins Kiprop Kipngok Set for NCAA Cross Country Championships in Columbia
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After finishing inside the top 15 at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Charlottesville last week, Wildcats Ed Bird and Collins Kiprop Kipngok were selected to compete in the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Mo. on Saturday.
At the Southeast Regional, Kiprop Kipngok highlighted the Wildcats finish by placing 12th with a time of 29:53.9 in the first 10k race of the season. During his freshman season in Lexington, Kiprop Kipngok was the lone Wildcat to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisc., finishing 187th.
This season, Bird will join Kiprop Kipngok in the final race of 2025 after qualifying for the national championships with a 14th-place finish and a personal best time of 29:57.2 in the men’s 10k final.
The Wildcat pair also earned USTFCCCA All-Southeast Region honors for their performance in Charlottesville for the second consecutive season.
This week, the Cats will be competing against the top programs and the nation’s best athletes, including scoring SEC opponents Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Ole Miss, and non-scoring teams Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
The NCAA Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 22, with the men’s 10k race scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET at the Gans Creek XC Course in Columbia, Mo.
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