BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Dominic Kiptum and UIW’s Griffin Neal qualified for the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country South Central Regional meet on the campus of Texas A&M University.

Kiptum placed 8th with a time of 29:38.2, while Griffin finished 9th in 29:40.5 in the 10k race. Kiptum and Griffin were the top four finishers individually who did not belong to a team automatic qualifier. 

Lamar’s Freddy Richardson finished just two spots shy of nationals, placing 12th with a time of 29:49.2. Southland Champion Elkana Kipruto of SFA (13th – 29:49.5), and Newcomer of the Year Kamron Loera of UIW (30th – 30:29.0) rounded out the top five Southland finishers. 

On the women's side, freshman Mercy Kipchumba of SFA just missed punching her ticket, finishing one spot off qualifying for nationals. She finished with an outstanding seventh-place performance at 19:32.5, 0.2 seconds shy of the qualifying spot. Kipchumba set a SFA school record in the 8k.

Lamar’s Nia Clatworthy, who placed second at the conference championship two weeks ago, was the next Southland runner to cross the line in 19:52.9, placing 14th in the field of 201 runners.

Alicia Finnis of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19th - 20:07.2), Lamar’s Inca Padfield (20th - 20:08.0), and Cara Inch (21st - 20:08.1) rounded out the top five Southland finishers.

Southland Men’s Cross Country Champion UIW was the top team on the men’s side, finishing fifth with 163 points. SFA, who placed second at the conference championship, was 7th with 154 points, while Lamar was 14th with 397 points.

The 2024 Southland Women’s Cross Country Champion Lamar placed seventh with 171 points. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the conference runner-up, finished 9th with 361 points, while HCU placed 13th with 441 points.

Kiptum and Griffin move on to the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which are being held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Verona, Wisconsin, on November 23.

ESPNU will broadcast both championship races, with the men's 10K slated for 11:10 a.m. CT. Tickets and more information on the meet can be found at ncaa.com.