University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Big South Conference Championships
Kiprotich Named Freshman of the Year and Adam Hessler Breaks School Record as Bulldogs Turn in Strong Performance at BSC Championships
11.01.2024 | Cross Country
Women's Results
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The UNC Asheville cross country team competed in the Big South Championships Friday morning (Nov. 1). The men finished third in the 8k and the women fourth in the 5k.
"I'm very proud of our teams today. Our men performed the best they have all year, and it was exciting to see Adam get 2nd place and set a school record that he has been aiming for since he has been in Asheville," Head Coach Adam Puett said. "On the women's side, they went out there and gave it their all. I believe our ladies will bounce back and be ready for Regionals in two weeks."
Three Bulldogs earned All-Conference accolades on the men's side. In the closest sprint finish since 2016, Adam Hessler charged for the Bulldogs to take second place at 24:06.8, breaking the previous school record by ten seconds set by John Ciprich in 2022 (24:16.9). Hessler is now Asheville's top Bulldog in cross country history, after taking both the men's 8k and 10k school records.
Earning the highest freshman finish of the day was Paul Kiprotich, who placed third with his personal best time of 24:16.8. Kirpotich ran an excellent strategy, moving up from 11th to 3rd in the race's later stages. His performance earned him the title of Big South Freshman of the Year, the first individual in program history to be honored in 25 years. He also ran under the previous school record by a tenth of a second. He joined Hessler on the All-Conference First Team.
Jan Málek was the third Bulldog across the line, securing a 10th-place finish in 24:46.4. Malek's strong finish earned him a spot on the All-Conference Second Team. Five Bulldogs achieved personal bests on the course.
Quinn Jacquez represented Asheville on the Big South All-Academic team.
Setting the pace for Asheville on the women's side was Aneta Kucerová, who finished in 19th place with a time of 18:19.5. She was closely followed by Ella Moore, who ran a solid race to come in 21st with a season's best of 18:25.7. Two Bulldogs secured personal bests in the race.
Isabel Richardson represented Asheville on the Big South All-Academic team.
| UNC Asheville Finishes (Men) | UNC Asheville Finishes (Women) |
| Adam Hessler - 24:06.8 | 2nd (PR) | Aneta Kucerová - 18:19.5 | 19th |
| Paul Kiprotich - 24:16.8 | 3rd (PR) | Ella Moore - 18:25.7 | 21st |
| Jan Málek - 24:46.4 | 10th | Isabel Richardson - 18:44.6 | 27th |
| Quinn Jacquez - 25:35.1 | 22nd | Sophie Lundin - 18:51.9 | 29th |
| Nate Sullivan - 25:38.2 | 23rd (PR) | Alison Graf - 18:54.6 | 31st (PR) |
| Jonas Roach - 25:42.9 | 25th (PR) | Addison Corl - 19:26.6 | 46th |
| Tadiyos Sloan-Westmoreland - 26:08.1 | 32nd (PR) | Madeline Wittschen - 9:34.2 | 49th (PR) |
| Andrew Okon 26:14.5 | 33rd | Lily Kelpin - 19:42.5 | 54th |
| Logan Russo - 27:36.4 | 55th | Nikole Baikova - 20:0.8 | 60th |
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Team Results (Men): |
Team Results (Women): |
| 1. Charleston Southern (36) | 1. High Point (22) |
| 2. High Point (41) | 2. Charleston Southern (39) |
| 3. UNC Asheville (58) | 3. Radford (89) |
| 4. Radford (126) | 4. UNC Ashevile (126) |
| 5. Longwood (145) | 5. Longwood (129) |
| 6. USC Upstate (153) | 6. USC Upstate (172) |
| 7. Winthrop (221) | 7. Winthrop (183) |
| 8. Gardner-Webb (224) | 8. Gardner-Webb (184) |
| 9. Presbyterian (282) | 9. Presbyterian (286) |
Asheville will be back in action on Friday, November 15, for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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Players Mentioned
