Alabama
NCAA South Regional
Alabama Cross Country Set for Action at NCAA South Regional
11/14/2019 3:52:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Women’s 6K begins at 7:30 a.m. CT followed by the men’s 10K at 8:30 a.m. CT Friday morning
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama men's and women's cross country programs look to make national berths, Friday, Nov. 15, at the NCAA South Regional Championship, at Florida State's Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
The women's 6K race is scheduled to start the morning at 7:30 a.m. CT, followed by the men's 10K race after at 8:30 a.m. CT. Friday's race will be available for livestream via FloTrack, beginning at 7:28 a.m. CT. Admission and parking for the NCAA South Regional Championship is free and open to the public.
The top two men's and women's teams and the top four individuals from each race not a member of the two top teams and finishing in the top 25 will advance to the NCAA Championship, Nov. 23 at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
Alabama, slotted third on the men's side and fifth on the women's side in the South Region rankings, will face a plethora of regionally-ranked competition in Friday's Regional Championships, headlined by nationally-ranked No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 15 Middle Tennessee on the men's side and No. 12 Florida State and No. 27 Ole Miss on the women's side. Based on official entries there will be 29 scoring women's teams (36 schools represented) and 26 scoring men's teams (30 schools represented).
Leading the Lineup for the Men
- The Crimson Tide men have won seven NCAA South Region titles (1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) and have posted consecutive top-six finishes in the last four seasons.
- Individually, the UA men have won six South Region individual titles - three by David Kimani (2000, 2001, 2002) and one by Antibahs Kosgei (2015), Gilbert Kigen (2017) and Alfred Chelanga (2018).
- Competing this Friday are graduates Gilbert Kigen, and Vincent Kiprop, seniors J.P. Brinyark and Elliott Miller, junior Elliot Gindi, and freshmen Noel Rotich and Jacob Wiggers for the men.
- Last time out at the SEC Championship (Nov. 1), Kiprop (22:51.6) led the men with a 1st place individual finish claiming his second individual SEC title.
- The Kericho, Kenya, native pulled away from fellow teammate Kigen (22:55.4) to win the individual crown by nearly four seconds and lead the men's team to a second-place overall finish.
Leading the Lineup for the Women
- The Tide women recorded a streak of six top-six regional finishes from 2011-2016.
- Running for the UA women will be seniors Alexa Cruz, Haley Wright and Rebecca Buteau, along with sophomores Lauren Brackin, Mercy Chelangat and Rosie Mami and freshman Allison Wilson.
- Chelangat has led the Crimson Tide in all three races she has competed in this year, placing 37th at the Pre-National Invitational with a 6K time of 20:46.6 and finishing 35th in the 5K (16:56.85) at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
- Most recently, Chelangat placed 10th at the SEC Championships completing the 6K with a PR time of 20:38.1.
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
