NEW ORLEANS – Following strong showings at Virginia's Panorama Farms XC23 Invitational over the weekend, the Eastern Kentucky University men's and women's cross country teams have climbed into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region rankings.
 
The EKU men checked in at No. 12 this week, just behind Virginia Tech (No. 10) and Virginia (No. 11), and just ahead of in-state foe Louisville (No. 13).
 
The EKU women came in at No. 15, earning their first USTFCCCA regional ranking since November 4, 2019.
 
The men's team finished third at UVA on Friday morning. The Colonels scored 63 points, just one point behind host and second-place finisher Virginia (62). Penn won the day with 52 points.
 
All-American Ahmed Jaziri won the individual title, finishing first out of 97 competitors and covering the challenging, hilly 8K course in a time of 23:52.9.
 
Junior Joan Tapias and freshman Charles Kipchumba also delivered impressive performances at the meet. Tapias improved 17 spots from the 3K split to finish third overall with a time of 24:11.9. Kipchumba made up 19 spots over the final 5K to take sixth place in a time of 24:22.2.
 
The women's team took fourth at Panorama Farms on Friday, scoring 84 points. EKU was positioned only behind Yale (32), Virginia (58), and George Washington (72).
 
Newcomer Jone Zabaleta Larranaga (4^th / 17:27.8) and sophomore Laura Taborda (9^th / 17:34.8) both turned in top-10 performances in the women's 5K race.
 
Sophomore Grace Kilroy – who missed nearly all of last cross country and track season with an injury – continued her impressive comeback by finishing 18^th out of 72 runners in 18:13.0.
 
Both teams have this weekend off before competing at their first-ever ASUN Championships on Saturday, October 30 in Orlando, Florida.