ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Everlyn Kemboi became Utah Valley University's first-ever individual champion, and the 27th-ranked Wolverine women's team finished seventh overall at the 2022 NCAA Mountain Region Championships on North Golf Course on Friday. The UVU men finished in 10th place, with Habtamu Cheney leading the way. 
 
Kemboi's spot at next week's NCAA Championships is official while the team awaits its fate after a favorable finish and unprecedented season for the program. The selection show is Saturday at 3 p.m. MT on NCAA.com.

"It was really really exciting. This is the toughest region in the country with nine of the top 30 teams in the country. It was great to watch Eva go. She ran a solid race, controlled it from start to finish, and broke away about half way through," said UVU head coach Scott Houle. "On the men's side, Habs had a great race and just barely missed an individual qualifying bid. To finish 10th in this region is a great showing for us and a good foundation as we get ready for indoor and outdoor."
 
Kemboi, also the 2022 WAC Champion, notched her fourth individual win of the season, running the 6k in 19:47.6, eight seconds clear of the second-place finisher. The team finished with 164 points, just fending off Utah State by three points and not far behind sixth-place BYU, which finished with 144 points.
 
Mazzie Melaney Preston was next for Utah Valley, finishing 27th (20:46.2), followed by true freshman Ari Trimble (32nd, 20:53.6), Maggie Zwahlen (44th, 21:05.1), and Maddison Flippence (60th, 21:25.6) for the Wolverines factoring into the team score. Caila Odekirk (21:36.1) and Hannah Branch (21:37.0) finished 66th and 67th, respectively.
 
Cheney led the Wolverine men with a 31st-place finish with an 10k time of 28:38.9. Austin Hone was next for Utah Valley, finishing in 47th with a time of 29:13.4. Rounding out the scoring Wolverines were Max Mahon (50th, 29:15.2), Joel Mendez (66th, 29:52.1), and Adrian Jones (76th, 30:17.0).
 
For Kemboi, a 2022 Outdoor Track & Field All-American, she becomes just the second female and sixth participant to earn a spot in the Cross Country Championships. Joshua McCabe (2010, 2012), Tyson Lambert (2017), Britain Reynolds (2021), and Maddie Bench Empey (2021) are the previous Utah Valley harriers to compete at the NCAA Championships.