VERONA, Wis. – Freshman
Dominic Kiptum concluded the cross country season representing the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country program at nationals, finishing 153
rd out of over 250 athletes Saturday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
Kiptum raced among the best in the country and kept pace in the middle through the course to end with a 30:16.3 time in the men's 10k championship.
By the third mark, he ran his best split to be at 8:45.0 for a 130
th placing. He kept working his way through as he got up to as high as 127
th to begin the latter half of the race with a 17:49.3 time at the 6k mark.
"I am incredibly proud of how Dominic competed today and throughout the season," said head coach
Bryan Jackson. "Today wasn't what we wanted, but we accomplished what we needed: gained valuable experience for the years to come."
It concludes a stellar debut season that saw him as the Islanders' top finisher in every race he competed in. It included a top five showing at the SLC Championships as his fourth-place finish earned him All-Conference First Team honors before going on to being an All-Region honoree en route to earning a spot at the NCAAs.
Kiptum qualified for the national race after placing eighth overall at the NCAA South Central Regional with a 29:38.2 time in the men's 10k. He was the top finisher in the entire Southland Conference as just one of two in the league to punch their ticket to nationals.
Kiptum is the first Islander to race at the NCAA Championships since the 2022 season when
Dennis Kipngeno finished seventh at the regional meet to punch his ticket to the championships for the second year in a row. Kiptum is the fifth Islander to qualify for the race (fourth on the men's side), and very first freshman to do so.
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