Stillwater, Okla. – Sophomore Patrick Kipkemboi finished strong, moving up 14 spots over the last three kilometers to finish 209^th at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course.  In just his second cross country race in a Fighting Hawk uniform, Kipemboi, who had no hill training leading into the race on the daunting OSU course on a windy day reeled in five runners over the final 1000 meters, closing that final kilometer in 3:24.  It was his first 10 kilometer race since the fall of 2019, his first as a member of the North Dakota program.

One of 38 individuals to qualify for the Division I championship, Kipkemboi started the race in box 21, directly in the center of the 42 box starting line, accompanied by individuals from Kansas and New Mexico.  A quick start to race in a very tightly packed field, Kipkemboi covered the first kilometer in 2:40 and was in 92^nd place. 

Kipkemboi's 209^th place finish was sandwiched between runners from Charlotte and Wake Forest.  237 runners finished the race and 14 dropped out.

He was a member of head coach Christine Engel's first recruiting class.

Kipkemboi, who is the first to represent North Dakota at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in the Division I era, qualified for the national meet by winning the individual Summit League cross country championship on March 5^th in Macomb, Ill.  The Summit League cross country championship was an eight kilometer race.  He is just the third student-athlete from The Summit League to run in the Division I Men's Cross Country Championship since 2012.

Conner Mantz of BYU won the individual championship on in 29:26.  Former Big Sky Conference foe Northern Arizona captured the team championship with 60 points, 27 better than runner up Notre Dame.

The NCAA Championships were postponed from fall 2020 to spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The next event for North Dakota track and field will be this weekend, March 19-20 at the University of Missouri.