INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The outdoor track & field season will continue for Joshua Chepkesir and Quanterra Harrison as both have punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, officials announced Tuesday.

A native of Eldoret, Kenya, Chepkesir was one of 23 student-athletes selected to compete for a national title in the 10,000-meter Run. The redshirt junior logged an NCAA provisional qualifying time at the Raleigh Relays on March 25, with a time of 29:25.44.

A redshirt junior, Harrison was one of 20 student-athletes that made the list to compete on the biggest stage in the 400-meter Hurdles. The Charlotte native recorded a time of 1:00.06 in the event at the UMO Final Qualifier this past weekend.

Chepkesir qualified for the indoor championship during the 2019-20 season where he earned all-American status in the 3000-meter and 5000-meter Run. Harrison will be making her second trip to the outdoor championship, but is looking for her first all-American honor. Harrison placed 13th in the 100-meter Hurdles during the 2020-21 season.

Harrison will compete for the national championship on Thursday, May 26th, at 7:40 p.m. in the opening round of the 400-meter Hurdles. Chepkesir will have his shot at a national title on May 26th at 8:10 p.m. The national event will be held in Allendale, Michigan at the GVSU Lacrosse/Track & Field Stadium.

Braves softball, baseball each land two on CoSIDA Academic All-District team

Hard work in the classroom paid dividends for UNCP baseball’s Branden Kunz and Wellington Guzman and softball’s Jordan Adcox and Mary Sells on Wednesday afternoon when each of the four was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team, the organization announced.

To be nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility.

Each student-athlete that earned a spot on the all-district squad will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

Guzman and Kunz are the eighth and ninth student-athletes in the history of the program to pick up academic honors from CoSIDA. Wednesday’s announcement marked the first-such honors for the Black & Gold since 2017 when former outfielder Nick Debo was eventually decorated with Academic All-America accolades. They were the only Conference Carolinas baseball players named in Wednesday’s announcement.

A product of Raleigh, Guzman was a key member of an electric offense for the Black & Gold, and earned his bachelor’s degree in information technology from UNCP on Saturday after maintaining a 3.54 cumulative grade point average. Guzman has logged a .272 (47-for-173) batting average this season in 52 games (49 starts), while also amassing 23 extra-base hits (15 HR) and 48 RBI.

A key weekend starter for the Black & Gold, Kunz currently holds a 4.00 GPA while pursuing his master’s degree in business administration at UNCP. The Wake Forest native, who compiled a 3.96 GPA en route to earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration last year, has posted a 9-1 record and a 4.16 ERA in 14 appearances for the Black & Gold in 2022. He has struck out 59 batters in 71-1/3 innings pitched, while holding opponents to a .293 batting clip.

The fifth-seeded and 25th-ranked Braves (38-15) will be back in action again on Thursday when they battle fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne (44-11) in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional on the campus of North Greenville University. First pitch is slated for noon at Dillard Field in Tigerville, S.C.

The announcement marks the sixth time that the Braves softball team has been represented on the academic all-district team, the first time since 2017.

An everyday starter for the Braves behind the plate, Adcox posted a .371 (53-for-143) batting average this season, while also registering 53 hits, including 20 of the extra-base variety (5 HR), as well as 31 RBI and 38 runs scored. The redshirt senior also compiled a .580 slugging and .453 on-base percentage as well, while logging 14 multiple-hit and 10 multiple-RBI contests. The Fayetteville product capped off her senior season when she was named second team all-conference earlier this month. In the classroom, she maintained a 3.86 grade point average while majoring in biology.

A key force in UNCP’s offensive lineup, Sells capped off her senior season in grand fashion after turning in a team-best .385 (57-for-148) batting average to go along with 21 RBI and 40 runs scored. The everyday starter at shortstop, Sells registered eight extra-base hits, including seven doubles, while also drawing 16 walks and posting a 15-for-16 success rate on stolen base attempts. Sells was also named to the second-team all-conference squad after the regular season. In the classroom, she compiled a 3.59 grade point average in biology.