The Clemson women’s cross country team placed 13th overall in the 6,000-meter, while the men placed 14th overall in the 10,000-meter at the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships in Spartanburg, South Carolina, last Friday. In total, there were 41 teams and 246 competitors in the women’s competition and 40 teams and 237 competitors in the men’s.
Freshmen Gladys Chepngetich and Caelin Sloan led the way for the Tigers. Chepngetich, who hails from Kenya, finished the race in fifth place with a time of 19:52.0, just 22 seconds behind first place. Sloan completed the race in 21:12.1, which earned her a 62nd-place finish. Three Tigers in total placed in the top 100, with senior Brynne Sumner finishing 86th overall in 21:30.8.
Chepngetich’s fifth-place effort in the women’s race earned her a spot in Saturday’s NCAA Championships, making her the first female from Clemson to individually qualify for the championship since 2018. Just two weeks ago, she was named ACC Women’s Freshman of the Year while also earning a spot on the All-ACC team.
Chepngetich will compete for the NCAA Championship on Saturday at Panorama Farms Cross Country Course in Charlottesville, Virginia.
For the men, sophomore Victor Ndiwa earned a 25th-place finish with a time of 29:39.7, while junior Sawyer Dagan placed 42nd after crossing the line in 30:10.9 to put two Tigers in the top 50. Samuel Garringer completed the race in 31:06.5 to place 86th as the final Tiger to finish in the top 100.
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