Jepchirchir highlights Tigers’ showing at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals

MADISON, Wi. - Freshman Brenda Jepchirchir led the Auburn women’s cross-country team to a strong finish at the Pre-Nationals in Madison, Wisconsin Saturday. Competing in her second meet for the Tigers, Jepchirchir claimed her second meet victory, crossing the line in 20:00.60 to help the women to a sixth-place finish in the 6k “B” race on the Zimmer Championship Course.  

“Strong performance from Brenda Jepchirchir,” Auburn cross country Aaron Kindt said. “She executed a great race plan and showed a lot of growth in terms of composure and control today.” 

Out of 28 teams that competed in the race, the women finished sixth with 229 points. 

The next Auburn woman to cross after Jepchirchir was junior Gené Coetzee, who was 26th overall, crossing in 21:05.60.  

Running for the first time in orange and blue this cross country season, freshman Camila Gomes finished in a time of 21:27.30 

“I'm really encouraged with Camila Gomes’ cross country debut,” Kindt said. “She gives us another layer of depth heading into championship season. We also got big runs out of Alexandra Walsh and Cady McPhail.” 

Freshman Alexandra Walsh and sophomore Cady McPhail rounded out the Auburn top five with times of 21:51.00 and 21:56.90, respectively.  

On the men’s side, the squad finished 30th out of 32 teams in the 8k “A” race. Led by freshman Nickson Chebii, the team ended the day with 710 points. Chebii ran 23:41.50, finishing 72nd overall in a field of 251.  

“Nickson Chebii had a strong opener with a gutsy effort today,” Kindt said. “I’m very happy to see him finding more confidence each week.” 

The next Auburn runner to cross was senior Ryan Kinnane, who was 75th overall, crossing in 23:42.90. Kinnane was followed by sophomore Max Hardin (24:20.10), and seniors Carson Bedics (24:57.50) and Hayden Judge (25:02.30).  

“Overall, a challenging day for the men,” Kindt said. “I thought they did a great job putting themselves in position early, but we did not have a great day overall as a team. In a field like this, anything less than a great day is going to have you staring down the barrel, but this group is resilient, and this will be a valuable experience for us heading into the most important part of our campaign.”  

With the conclusion of the regular season, the Tigers set their sights on conference and regional meets.