Reigning NCAA Champ North Carolina State Women Win Eighth Straight Regional Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

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RESULTS | Auto Qualifiers - Virginia men, North Carolina men; N.C. State women, Virginia women

The three-time defending NCAA women's cross country champions from North Carolina State may not be the favorites any more, but the Wolfpack will return to the national championships after winning an eighth straight Southeast regional title on Friday morning at Winthrop University Recreation Complex. 

No. 17 N.C. State scored 60 points and defeated No. 15 Virginia (80) and No. 13 North Carolina (119). Wake Forest was fourth with 126 points. 

Sophomores Grace Hartman and Hannah Gapes went 1-3 up front for the Wolfpack. Harman's winning time of 20:04.2 edged out Clemson freshman Silvia Jelego (20:04.4), who finished second. Gapes was next in 20:08.3.

Virginia duo Margot Appleton and Jenny Schilling finished fifth and sixth to help the Cavalier lock down the second automatic team qualifying berth. 

Clemson, sixth as a team, will send three individuals. Jelego will be joined by Judy Kosgei (fourth) and Gladys Chepngetich (seventh). The other individual qualifier is Adelyn Fairley of Liberty, who was eighth. 

The No. 13 Virginia men put five scorers between eighth and 26th and won the team title with 79 points, beating No. 11 North Carolina, which scored 85. 

No. 5 Wake Forest finished fifth, behind No. 24 Eastern Kentucky and Virginia Tech. 

Facing back-to-back 10-kilometer races, standouts Parker Wolfe of UNC and Gary Martin of Virginia ran a bit more conservatively in the qualifying race. 

Instead, Virginia Tech's George Couttie won the regional title with 29:41.7 and Eastern Kentucky freshman Justine Kipkoech was second in 29:44.3. 

Wolfe, the NCAA 5,000 meters champion, was sixth and crossed the line with teammate Ethan Strand, who was fifth 29:53.6. 

Dylan Schubert of Furman was third in 29:49.8 and Collins Kiprop Kipngok from Kentucky was fourth in 29:51.3.