Joplin, Mo. – Following his fifth place finish at the Regional Championships a couple of weeks ago, Gidieon Kimutai competed as an individual in the NCAA National Championships on Saturday. 
 
The 2023 season marked Kimutai's fourth and final year of eligibility in cross country. In his cross country career, Kimutai has qualified for the National Championships in all four years. His best finish came in 2018 as he took fourth in the Championships, and he also finished fifth in 2019. 

On Saturday, Kimutai finished the 10k race in 29:46.3 which was good for 14th place. The top 15 finishers earn NCAA All-American honors, and the top 40 claim USTFCCCA All-American honors. With his 14th place finish, Kimutai earns his third cross country All-American honor in his career. Although his time on Saturday wasn't his personal best in the 10k, it was his fastest time of his four National Championship races. 
 
The champions of the event was Wingate, totaling 70 points with the 4th, 9th, 17th, 19th, and 21st placements. Just nine points behind the champions, West Texas A&M was the runner-up with 79 total points. East Central took third with a total score of 108 points. 

The individual champion came from West Texas A&M with a time of 29:04.3. The runner-up was from Western Colorado, and third was from Colorado Christian.