University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Upstate Invite
Women Record Historic Finish as Bulldogs Close Regular Season
10.19.2024 | Cross Country
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The UNC Asheville cross country team made an impressive return to the course on Saturday (Oct. 19) for the Upstate Invite. Eighteen Bulldogs competed as Asheville closed out its 2024 regular season in Spartanburg, with 11 Bulldogs securing personal bests as the team gears up for the Big South Conference Championships.
The women's team equaled their highest finish ever in program history, placing third overall with a score of 104 points. Asheville also earned a third-place finish in 2021 with a score of 97 points. This year's women's team shaved an impressive 224 points off their 12th-place finish (328 points) last year.
In her collegiate debut, Aneta Kucerová led the Bulldogs to their highest individual finish in program history. She took fourth place with her personal best time of 17:57.5, the fastest freshman of the day to cross the finish line.
Isabel Richardson was next to finish for Asheville, who had a time of 18:17.9 (17th), closely followed by Addi Corl, who clocked a personal best of 18:21.4 to finish in 19th. Ella Moore finished 24th (18:34.1), followed by Lily Kelpin, who shaved 57 seconds off her previous personal best to finish in 19:02.5 (42nd). The sixth Bulldog to finish in the top 50 was Sophie Lundin, who placed 48th in 19:09.4.
The final Bulldogs to cross the finish line included Zoe Bos (63rd - 19:19.4, PR), Nikole Baikova (95th - 19:55.9, PR), and Madeline Wittschen (112th - 20:18.5).
The men's team placed fourth overall with 88 points. In his second collegiate meet and first collegiate 8k race, freshman Paul Kiprotich had an exceptional finish to take third place with his personal best time of 24:22.5. His time broke the freshman record by 14 seconds (24:36.4), previously set by Jan Málek last year at the Big South Conference Championships.
Kiprotich was closely followed by Adam Hessler, who stayed comfortably with the front pack to finish in fourth place with his finish time of 24:23.8. This marks his second top-10 finish of the season after finishing eighth at the Furman Invitational on Sept. 14.
Next to cross the line was Málek, who finished 25th with his time of 25:12.7. The fourth and final Bulldog with a top-50 spot was Quinn Jacquez, who came in 42nd with his time of 25:41.9. The final Bulldogs to cross the finish line included Jonas Roach (52nd - 25:53.2, PR), Tadiyos Sloan-Westmoreland (71st, 26:21.0, PR), Logan Russo (74th - 26:26.9, PR), Nate Sullivan (94th - 26:50.3) and Andrew Okon (103rd - 26:56.4).
The Bulldogs will next compete in the Big South Conference Championships on Friday, Nov. 1, in Charleston, South Carolina.
For complete results on the Upstate Invite, click here.
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TOP 10 TEAM RESULTS
| Men's Results | Women's Results |
| 1. Jacksonville St. (55) | 1. Emory (34) |
| 2. Western Carolina (71) | 2. Jacksonville St. (86) |
| 3. Emory (79) | 3. UNC-Asheville (103) |
| 4. UNC-Asheville (88) | 4. Longwood (123) |
| 5. Davidson (139) | 5. South Carolina (126) |
| 6. Stetson (179)) | 6. Western Carolina (145) |
| 7. Longwood (195) | 7. Stetson (229) |
| 8. USC Upstate (217) | 8. Gardner-Webb (241) |
| 9. West Georgia (235) | 9. North Georgia (263) |
| 10. Flagler (236) | 10. Flagler (285) |
Players Mentioned
