FMU's Kiprop and May excel at NCAA regional cross country meet

WINGATE, NC - Junior Hillary Kiprop and senior Kelly May both posted top-11 finishes and garnered All-Region honors as the Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams finished 15th and 20th respectively at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Meet.

Queens University of Charlotte won the men's team title, while Lees-McRae College captured the women's team championship.

Kiprop completed the 10,000-meter men's race in 33:24 to finish 10th among 140 runners.  His finish is the highest ever for a Patriot male runner in an NCAA regional meet, besting Kevin Mitchell's 13th-place showing in 1995.

Other FMU finishers included sophomore Jerry Roth in 86th position (37:37), sophomore Ben Miller in 94th (37:53), senior Steven Holmes in 95th (38:12), senior Dan Brann in 101st (38:49), sophomore Bryson Robinson in 137th (48:21), and senior TJ Simmons in 139th (50:15).

May toured the 6,000-meter women's course in 24:33 to finish 11th, the highest-ever showing for a Patriot female runner, besting Emily Reid's 12th-place finish in 2000.

Other Patriot finishers in the women's race were junior Amanda Doyle in 89th place (26:52), freshman Samantha Smith in 127th (29:09), junior Kimberly Richardson in 129th (29:19), and junior Amanda Booker in 152nd (37:06).