Liberty University
NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships
Kirwa, Palmer Claim All-Region Honors
11/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Liberty senior Azaria Kirwa (seventh place) and sophomore Noel Palmer (18th place) both earned all-region medals at Friday's 2018 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships, with Kirwa's performance putting him into consideration for an NCAA national bid. Their individual efforts helped both the Flames and Lady Flames achieve lofty team finishes on a soggy day at the Winthrop Coliseum and Farm.
The Liberty men's squad placed sixth of 33 teams with 218 points, marking the Flames' best regional finish since 2008. NC State (83 points) and Eastern Kentucky (90) took the two automatic berths to the 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
Meanwhile, the Lady Flames came in 13th of 33 women's squads with 405 points for their highest regional placement since 2010. NC State (70 points) made it a sweep of the Southeast Region team championships, while runner-up Furman (94) will join them in Madison, Wis., at the NCAA national meet.
Top 5 Men's Teams (33 Total Teams):
1) NC State – 83
2) Eastern Kentucky – 90
3) Virginia – 102
4) Furman – 116
5) Wake Forest – 177
6) Liberty – 218
Top 5 Women's Teams (33 Total Teams):
1) NC State – 70
2) Furman – 94
3) Duke – 139
4) Wake Forest – 163
5) Virginia Tech – 181
13) Liberty – 405
Men's 10K Individual Results (232 Total Finishers):
1) James Sugira, Eastern Kentucky – 29:26.9
2) Peter Seufer, Virginia Tech – 29:27.6
3) Aaron Templeton, Furman – 29:31.3
4) Amon Kemboi, Campbell – 29:34.6
5) Lawrence Kipkoech, Campbell – 29:45.1
7) Azaria Kirwa, Liberty – 30:01.4
26) Augostine Lisoreng, Liberty – 30:39.2
51) Nick Doan, Liberty – 31:19.0
61) Felix Kandie, Liberty – 31:36.2
73) James Zentmeyer, Liberty – 31:47.9
101) Benjamin Klemmeck, Liberty – 32:14.6
104) Paul Squires, Liberty – 32:18.4
Women's 6K Individual Results (245 Total Finishers):
1) Dorcas Wasike, Louisville – 19:42.1
2) Elly Henes, NC State – 19:47.6
3) Savannah Carnahan, Furman – 19:54.5
4) Hannah Steelman, Wofford – 19:56.5
5) Dominique Clairmonte, NC State – 19:59.0
18) Noel Palmer, Liberty – 20:27.0
41) Calli Parlier, Liberty – 21:05.2
113) Emma Bower, Liberty – 21:55.9
117) Lauren Hirneisen, Liberty – 21:58.6
123) Kammi Kurtz, Liberty – 22:03.7
138) Kyley Sorg, Liberty – 22:15.6
142) Greer Wilson, Liberty – 22:19.1
Race Reactions
• The only Liberty men's cross country teams ever to place better than sixth at this meet were the 2007 and 2008 Flames, both of whom came in fifth.
• This equals the second best regional finish ever by an ASUN men's cross country team. Only the 2014 North Florida Ospreys (fifth place in the South Region) ever finished better than Liberty's sixth-place effort on Friday.
• Last year, the Charlotte men's team placed sixth in the region, two points ahead of seventh-place Liberty. This time around, the Flames returned the favor, ending up four points in front of the seventh-place 49ers.
• Liberty men's cross country has improved its placement at each of the last four Southeast Region meets, following a 15th-place showing in 2014. (2015 – 14th, 2016 – 9th, 2017 – 7th, 2018 – 6th).
• Azaria Kirwa, who placed third at this meet a year ago, becomes the sixth Liberty men's cross country runner ever to earn back-to-back all-region medals. He joins Stephen Githuka (1998-99), Josh McDougal (2004-07), Jordan McDougal (2007-08), Sam Chelanga (2008-10) and Evans Kigen (2009-10).
• Augostine Lisoreng nearly made the all-region team himself, but finished one spot and 2.4 seconds behind the final all-region finisher, Alex Corbett of Virginia. The sophomore improved 43 places from his 69th-place finish as a freshman in 2017.
• Felix Kandie, who came in 61st, was the ninth freshman to cross the finish line in the men's 10K.
• Kandie was one of four Flames to make his 10K cross country debut on Friday, along with Nick Doan, Benjamin Klemmeck and Paul Squires.
• The Lady Flames' 13th-place team finish marked their best regional placement since a 10th-place showing in 2010.
• A year ago, the Lady Flames came in 26th at this meet, and their No. 1 runner placed 126th. This season, Liberty boasted five of the region's top 123 finishers.
• Noel Palmer is the first Lady Flame to earn all-region honors since Ednah Kurgat in 2015.
• Kurgat is the only Lady Flame ever to run a cross country 6K faster than Palmer's 20:27.0 clocking on Friday.
• Palmer joins Jennifer Klugh (2010) as the only Lady Flames sophomores ever to earn all-region distinction at this meet.
• Palmer shattered her previous 6K personal best of 21:21.7 from Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Oct. 13. She also drastically improved upon her 126th-place regional finish from 2017.
• Calli Parlier passed 21 runners during the second half of the race, ending up as the eighth-fastest freshman in Friday's race.
• Despite the wet conditions, all seven Lady Flames set new 6K personal bests on Friday, headlined by Lauren Hirneisen. The sophomore, whose previous best was 23:09, clocked 21:58.6 in Rock Hill. She also improved from a 183rd-place regional finish in 2017 to a 117th-place effort on Friday.
Up Next
The complete field of team and individual qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be announced Saturday on NCAA.com. Kirwa is a candidate for selection as an at-large individual, based upon Friday's performance.
The national meet is scheduled for Nov. 17 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis., with the women's 6K slated for 11:45 a.m. Eastern and the men's 10K set for 12:45 p.m. Eastern.
