The Patriot League announced its fall cross country Academic Honor Roll on Thursday and a total of 32 Lehigh student-athletes were honored. Leading the way for the men was junior Evans Kosgei (3.93) who was voted the Patriot League’s Scholar Athlete of the Year this past fall. For the women senior co-captain Dana Stellar matched Kosgei with a 3.93 GPA.

Junior Evans Kosgei earned a Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection after he capped off the cross country season on Saturday at the Mid-Atlantic Regional race with a 17th place finish, covering the 10k course in a time of 32.36. Battling tough course conditions caused by remnants of Hurricane Ida, Kosgei’s finish was the highest ever for the men’s team at the NCAA Regional race.

The Lehigh men’s and women’s cross country teams finished their seasons on a strong note at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Saturday. The men’s team finished in 15th out of 28 teams and the women’s team earned a 16th place finish out of the 27 that competed.  Evans Kosgei led the men’s team with a 17th place finish and he became the highest finisher in Lehigh men’s cross country history at Regionals. Sophomore Katherine Pierce crossed the finish line in 49th place to lead the women’s team.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Princess Anne, Md. on Saturday for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Qualifiers. The men’s team is currently ranked 14th in the region heading into Saturday’s meet.  The men and women last competed at the Patriot League Championship two weekends ago at Colgate. The men’s team, led by sophomore Evans Kosgei, placed fourth and the women’s team, led by sophomore Katherine Pierce, placed seventh.

Lehigh cross country junior Evans Kosgei can not only get it done out on the course, but also in the classroom as he was named the Patriot League men’s cross country Scholar Athlete of the Year on Thursday. To be eligible for the award the student-athlete must possess a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30 and be a key player or starter in his sport. Kosgei meets those standards as he boasts a 3.96 GPA and is the Mountain Hawks’ top runner. He is the first Lehigh cross country runner to ever win the award.