AUBURN, Ala. – Less than a week after she won the NCAA South Regional and qualified individually for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, junior Joyce Kimeli was named the UTFCCCA South Regional Women's Athlete of the Year.
Kimeli became the third women in Auburn history to win the NCAA South Region after winning by 15 seconds with a time of 19.59.5 in the women's 6k. She joined Holly Knight (2008) and Angela Homan (2004) to win the South Region and be named the region athlete of the year.
The Eldoret, Kenya native has continued to thrive this season after picking up where she left off last season. Kimeli went to nationals in two events in track during the 2019 outdoor season and was also a national individual qualifier in cross country last season.
This cross country season, Kimeli finished third in her first race at the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame, second at her individual race at the Pre-National Invitational, third at SEC Championships and first overall at NCAA South Regional.
Kimeli will head to Terre Haute, Ind. for the second time this season to compete for the second year in a row at the NCAA Championships on November 23.