by Benny Benton
MONTEVALLO, Ala. – All three of the Barton College cross country participants in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional on Saturday set new personal records while producing finishes in the top 20 percent of their respective fields.
Men's runner Joel Lagat, hoping to qualify for the national championship race for a second straight year, narrowly missed that goal, but did take 1:20 off his previous best 10K time with a run of 31:31.91. The mark placed the Eldoret, Kenya, resident 21st in the field of 169.
Barton's two female entries, Sharon Kiptoo and Heather Cuddington, also narrowly missed nationals while producing outstanding runs.
The top three runners not qualifying as part of a team advance to nationals, and Kiptoo was sixth on that list. The junior from Eldoret, Kenya, placed 17th overall out of 189 runners with a mark of 22:17.14. The time was just over a minute better than her previous 6K PR, which she set two weeks ago at the Conference Carolinas Championships.
Cuddington, a senior from Saratoga, N.C., placed 30th overall with a time of 22:47.64. The effort was roughly 45 seconds better than her PR time set two weeks ago at the league meet, when she joined Kiptoo on the all-conference team.
Men's teams from University of Mount Olive, Mars Hill University and Queens University advanced to nationals, while squads from host Montevallo University, Queens and Wingate University advanced on the women's side.
