Kosgei Set to Make History at NCAA Cross Country Championship
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Nov. 17, 2023) – South Carolina freshman phenom Judy Kosgei will etch her name into South Carolina Cross Country history tomorrow as she becomes the first individual Gamecock runner to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championship.
The 2023 Women’s National Championship race will be a 6K event held at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. at 10:20 a.m.
Fans can follow along with live stats by clicking on the following link.
The national championship meet will also be aired on ESPNU with live coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. The women’s race will commence at 10:20 a.m., with the men’s 10K championship immediately following at 11:10 a.m. For a link to the ESPNU broadcast, please click here.
KICKING IT WITH KOSGEI
Judy Kosgei has put together one of the best cross country campaigns in Gamecock history and has done so in only her first year of competition. Her season began with back-to-back weeks where she broke the program’s 5K record, currently now sitting at 15:52.9 when she claimed the victory at the Gamecock Challenge. Her first two victories to open the season earned her SEC Runner of the Week, as well as securing one National Runner of the Week award.
Fast forward to her 6K events, Kosgei set a then program record at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa. when she clocked 19:54.9 for her third victory in three meets. The Kenya product then placed 11th in the SEC Championship, running 20:03.6 to earn a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team as well as the Second Team All-SEC.
Kosgei then secured her place in the NCAA Championship after finishing fourth in the Southeast Regional meet in Spartanburg, S.C., breaking her own 6K program record when she crossed the line at 19:48.9. Her fourth-place finish is the highest individual finish by a Gamecock at the regional meet as she helped the Gamecocks finish 11th overall, the best team finish at the regional event since 2012. With her efforts in Spartanburg, Kosgei was named to the Southeast All-Region squad, alongside teammate Silan Ayyildiz.
