Freshman Matro Jepkenboi arrived for cross country practice on Tuesday, just like he did during the semester. She went through her routine and talked with head coach John Sauerhage to prepare for this weekend’s game.
But this weekend’s tournament will be anything but ordinary. This will be the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Jepkemoi is the fourth female athlete in program history to advance to this stage.
She advanced to the national championship with a record-setting performance last weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jepkenboi ran the 6k in 20:15.8, placing her third at the regional meet and the highest place for an athlete at the regional meet in program history.
Sauerhage, who has guided the program to 33 conference championships since taking over as coach in 1996, said his team has competed against 32 schools in its area and was able to top the leaderboard. said it was very impressive. He said the program has featured great athletes in the past, but Jepkenboi is always able to perform when it matters most.
“She’s a great kid,” Sauerhage said. “You can tell by talking to her. She’s a good teammate, she works hard in school, she’s very grateful for this opportunity and we’re here to help her get faster. I’m here.”
Jepkemboy said he was excited to qualify for the national tournament in his first year at UTA and has improved since his last appearance at the same venue in September at Arkansas State, where he finished sixth. He said he felt that he was doing so.
“I feel good,” she said. “I’ve improved from my first game to now. I think I’m getting better and I’m getting better every day.”
She is grateful for Sauerhage’s guidance and said it meant a lot to her to achieve this much.
Jepkenboi’s journey began in Kenya, where he ran cross country and track. She is the third player on the current team from Eldoret, Kenya. Sauerhage said her Kenyan contacts had been talking about her and they had seen her run and it was clear she could contribute to the team as an endurance athlete.
Sauerhage said he was hooked from there when he first saw her win a 3km race in Kenya. Cross country is a very easy sport, which makes it easier to recruit athletes because they don’t have to learn attacks and other schemes like other sports.
“She ran 3km at about 9:30. That’s all the information I need,” he said.
Sauerhage said that as soon as he came to UTA, he sprinted to the front in every event he competed in and became a great teammate. The team tournament gave Jepkenboi an opportunity to scout the tournament and find out who he would be competing against at the national tournament.
Jepkenboi said that during the race, he tells himself that running is his talent. She focuses on improving her times while doing what she loves.
As she prepared for the national competition, Mr. Sauerhage said she might need a jacket because it was going to get cold, so she received her letterman jacket early. He posted a picture of Jepkenboi wearing the jacket on social media with the caption, “New rules…if you finish in the top 3 in the NCAA XC SC region as a freshman (hello Matroline) you will receive your letter jacket the following Monday.” did.
Jepkemboye will play several matches against Kenya at the national tournament in Virginia, but said he will do his best in what will be tough matches. She is going to try with all her might, even if it is difficult for her.
“I’m going to fight,” she said.
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