University of Northern Colorado Athletics
UNC’s Mpigachai has record-breaking run at Nebraska
9/17/2022 11:43:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
LINCOLN, Neb.—Challenging for the individual win throughout the race, Northern Colorado's Regina Mpigachai placed second overall out of more than 300 competitors at the Nebraska Greeno/Dirksen Invitational on Saturday morning.
Mpigachai covered the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 8 seconds to cross the finish in the second spot and to slice nearly a full second from the Northern Colorado school record. Melodie Leroudier held the previous fastest mark in school history with a 17:08.8.
Nebraska's Alea Hardie took medalist honors in the women's race with a 16.57.9, while Drake's Brooke Mullins finished nearly 10 seconds after Mpigachaifor third place with a 17:17.3.
With Mpigachai leading the way, the Northern Colorado women's squad placed sixth overall out of 29 teams with 180 points. Kansas State edged the host Huskers of Nebraska, 54 to 59, for the team title.
"The women ran a solid race today and made a marked improvement from Cheyenne two weeks ago," UNC Head Coach Wayne Angel said. "I challenged them to run a complete race individually and for the most part they accomplished the mission. Regina ran a very gutsy race to finish second overall. This is her first year ever running cross country and she is starting to figure it out."
Chloe Rylance and Summer Olson snuck into the top 50 individuals with Rylance placing 30th with an 18:29.3 and Olson 45th with an 18:49.9.
Crossing the line within strides of each other, Julia Brown and Shantell Hafner rounded out the scoring positions for the Bears with Brown taking 59th with a 19:02.4 and Hafner 62nd with a 19:03.9.
"I was also happy to see continued improvement from Chloe and Summer," Angel said. "They had a very good pack today and really worked together as a team."
Jesse Hayward paced the UNC men's team with a 23rd-place result. Hayward toured the 8,000-meter course around the Mahoney Park Golf Course in 25:01.2. Competing among a 318-person field, Zachary Wells cracked the top 100 with a 26:24.2.The UNC men placed 13th overall out of 29 total teams.
"The men are young and were under strength in a very competitive field. Everyone made progress from Cheyenne two weeks ago and Jesse had a huge breakthrough," Angel said. "He raced with a lot of heart today while Zach and Isaac were very competitive today as well. We are well ahead of where we were last season and both programs are moving in the right direction. As they continue to get stronger and improve their racing IQs, the season promises to be very exciting down the road."
The Bears will take next weekend off before traveling west to California for the Highlander Invitational hosted by UC Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Assistant Coach Stormie Sickler added, "What seemed to look like a wet and gloomy day, turned into a perfect cross country race day! They had the vision to work together and move with each other throughout the race. We wanted them to pack up and talk to each other, and seeing their results is proof that they were working with each other throughout the race."
Mpigachai covered the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 8 seconds to cross the finish in the second spot and to slice nearly a full second from the Northern Colorado school record. Melodie Leroudier held the previous fastest mark in school history with a 17:08.8.
Nebraska's Alea Hardie took medalist honors in the women's race with a 16.57.9, while Drake's Brooke Mullins finished nearly 10 seconds after Mpigachaifor third place with a 17:17.3.
With Mpigachai leading the way, the Northern Colorado women's squad placed sixth overall out of 29 teams with 180 points. Kansas State edged the host Huskers of Nebraska, 54 to 59, for the team title.
"The women ran a solid race today and made a marked improvement from Cheyenne two weeks ago," UNC Head Coach Wayne Angel said. "I challenged them to run a complete race individually and for the most part they accomplished the mission. Regina ran a very gutsy race to finish second overall. This is her first year ever running cross country and she is starting to figure it out."
Chloe Rylance and Summer Olson snuck into the top 50 individuals with Rylance placing 30th with an 18:29.3 and Olson 45th with an 18:49.9.
Crossing the line within strides of each other, Julia Brown and Shantell Hafner rounded out the scoring positions for the Bears with Brown taking 59th with a 19:02.4 and Hafner 62nd with a 19:03.9.
"I was also happy to see continued improvement from Chloe and Summer," Angel said. "They had a very good pack today and really worked together as a team."
Jesse Hayward paced the UNC men's team with a 23rd-place result. Hayward toured the 8,000-meter course around the Mahoney Park Golf Course in 25:01.2. Competing among a 318-person field, Zachary Wells cracked the top 100 with a 26:24.2.The UNC men placed 13th overall out of 29 total teams.
"The men are young and were under strength in a very competitive field. Everyone made progress from Cheyenne two weeks ago and Jesse had a huge breakthrough," Angel said. "He raced with a lot of heart today while Zach and Isaac were very competitive today as well. We are well ahead of where we were last season and both programs are moving in the right direction. As they continue to get stronger and improve their racing IQs, the season promises to be very exciting down the road."
The Bears will take next weekend off before traveling west to California for the Highlander Invitational hosted by UC Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Assistant Coach Stormie Sickler added, "What seemed to look like a wet and gloomy day, turned into a perfect cross country race day! They had the vision to work together and move with each other throughout the race. We wanted them to pack up and talk to each other, and seeing their results is proof that they were working with each other throughout the race."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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UNC Weekly Press Conference - Wayne Angel (Feb. 24)
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UNC Weekly Press Conference - Wayne Angel (Feb 17)
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