Fayetteville State Claims Seventh Straight Women’s Cross Country Title, Virginia State Men’s Claims Title for the First Time since 2021
SALEM, VA. – The 2024 CIAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship returned to Salem, Virginia and was exciting from start to finish on both sides. The Fayetteville State women’s squad claimed their seventh-consecutive title, while Virginia State swiped the men’s title by just one point, narrowly finishing ahead of Fayetteville State.
The Broncos women scored 28 points to run away with their seventh consecutive CIAA Championship. Winston-Salem State scored 96 points for second place and Lincoln University (PA) scored 113 and claimed third.
Fayetteville State men’s and women’s cross country head coach, Inez Turner, is no stranger to success and was once again named the CIAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after the meet.
“Hats off to these young ladies” said Fayetteville State coach Inez Turner. “Going out there and winning seven times goes to show the type of heart we have on the team. I’m happy to be a part of their lives, and thank God for using me to help them get to where they are today. Not only are they winning championships, they also all have over a 3.0 GPA. I know for sure they won’t just be winners on the trail, they will also be winners in life.”
The FSU women placed four runners in the top seven individually, led by Irene Jeptoo finished in 17:55.6 to claim the women’s 5K individual crown, an over 30-second improvement from her first-place time last season. Virginia State’s Rose Muturi took second with a time of 18:06.3, and Sharon Ngetich from Shaw claimed third at 18:43.9.
For her success throughout the season and first-place finish in the women’s championship, Irene Jeptoo was named the 2024 CIAA Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year.
For the first time since 2021, Virginia State Men were crowned 2024 CIAA Men’s Cross Country champions after stealing the victory from Fayetteville State who looked primed to claim their third consecutive title. As the first 10 runners crossed the finish line, the Trojans saw three of the first six runners hail from their school, and continued to place well as they also managed two more spots in the top-20.
They were led by Desmond Kirwa, who finished third overall with a time of 25:25.2. Teammate Emmanuel Williams took fifth at 26:17.3, and Emmanuel Kipchirchir was right behind him with a time of 26:41.6
As the race came to its finish and the points were tallied, Virginia State came out on top by one point, garnering 45 total points. Fayettteville State came in a close second with 46 points, and Claflin would come in third with 85 points. With his team claiming the championship, Virginia State head men’s and women’s cross country coach was named CIAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after the meet.
“This is amazing; We put in the work for it and it was good coming in as the underdogs” said Virginia State head coach Frank Ryland. “They showed up at 5:00 AM every morning and were motivated and dedicated to be champions, so they earned everything they recived today. Fayetteville State is an amazing team, but it’s all about showing up today and our team did that today because they wanted it more.”
While Virginia Union found themselves fifth overall, Franklin Kipchirchir dashed to a first-place, CIAA Championship record-setting finish, coming in at 23:58.1. Because of his efforts all season, which included five CIAA Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors and the record-setting performance at the championship, Kipchirchir was named the 2024 CIAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Final results for today’s meet can be found here: snapresults.snaptiming.com/meets/41578
All-CIAA Men’s Team
- Franklin Kipchirchir – Virginia Union
- Derrick Kipchumba – Fayetteville State
- Desmond Kirwa – Virginia State
- Hillary Toroitich – Fayetteville State
- Emmanuel Williams – Virginia State
- Emmanuel Kipchirchir – Virginia State
- Graysen Manning – Claflin
- Brandon Jeffers – Livingstone
- DaMauri Little – Claflin
- Nathan Kipyego – Fayetteville State
- Jalen Brownlee – Virginia State
- Truth Mattison – Livingstone
- Chase Burke – Virginia Union
- Elisha Kipsang – Fayetteville State
- Alex Kiprono – Shaw
All-CIAA Women’s Team
- Irene Jeptoo – – Fayetteville State
- Rose Muturi – Virginia State
- Sharon Ngetich – Shaw
- Nia Gibson – Fayetteville State
- Brenda Cheboi – Fayetteville State
- Toni Middlebrooks – Virginia Union
- Repline Cheptoo – Fayetteville State
- Abijah Jepkemboi – Virginia Union
- Madison McDonald – Claflin
- Elicia Bryant – Winston-Salem State
- Ashley Bell – Fayetteville State
- Skylar White – Virginia State
- Kamani Johns – Lincoln (PA)
- Miranda McLean – Lincoln (PA)
- Trinity Bumbry – Livingstone