HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Kennesaw State men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Southern Showcase on Friday morning at John Hunt Cross Country Running Park.
 
Both squads faced strong fields. The KSU women placed fifth overall, finishing ahead of several South Region opponents, including Alabama, Auburn, Lipscomb, Central Florida and Florida State. The men placed 14th, led by three top-25 finishers.
 
Men's 8K
Collins Kipkemboi paced the Owls, finishing fifth overall with a time of 23:26.7. Edwin Kiprono followed in 23:49.9, while Brian Limo placed 19th in 24:03.4. Rounding out the scorers for KSU were Matthew Hall (26:06.1, 204th) and Noah Sybert (26:20.9, 240th).
 
Women's 5K
Madison Seiler led the KSU women, clocking in at 17:06.0. Emma Ferguson (17:29.2) and Samantha McGarity (17:30.4) placed 34th and 35th, respectively. Akshana followed closely in 45th with a time of 17:36.3, and Riley Perlakowski completed the team scoring in 61st (17:49.4).
 
Head Coach Adam Bray
On the men's team:
"This morning we had a great opportunity to preview our CUSA Championships course. I thought our men raced with tenacity and grit. Our top three, led by Collins in fifth place, all finished in the top 25 – a big accomplishment considering the size of the field. While our team placement was lower than expected, our 4-8 runners made solid moves through the race. We'll continue to focus on better positioning early. I've seen great progress from this group, and with a few more weeks of training, I expect them to continue improving."
 
On the women's team:
"Our women raced great and finished top five overall. Our 1-5 spread was tight, and they executed well—being aggressive early, finding each other to pack up, and staying strong through the second half. Positioning is key in big races like this, and they did an excellent job managing that."
 
On the overall performance:
"Congrats to all our athletes who ran personal bests and improved their placement from previous years. I also want to recognize those who may not lead the pack but continue to show tremendous improvement while representing Kennesaw State."
 
Next Up
The Southern Showcase was KSU's only meet in September. The Owls return to action at the Louisville Cross Country Classic on Oct. 4.