Men's Cross Country Finishes Third in Oregon
10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
Oct. 4, 2008
EUGENE, Ore. - The Alabama men's cross country team competed at the Third Annual Bill Dellinger Invitational today at the Springfield Country Club hosted by the University of Oregon.
The Crimson Tide split the team up this weekend sending the top seven runners to Oregon and the next four to Auburn to compete at the Tiger Invitational.
Bill Dellinger Invitational
In Oregon, the Tide toed the line with the defending national champions and No. 1 team in the country, Oregon, and finished third with 62 points, just 13 points off champion Oregon.
The Crimson Tide placed four runners in the top 11 and was led by senior All-American Augustus Maiyo who crossed the line in fourth covering the 8,000 meter course in 24:12.70.
Tyson David followed closely in seventh crossing the line in 24:24.56. Abraham Kutingala (10th) and Emmanuel Bor (11th) finished with times of 24:32.48 and 24:33.28, respectively. Andrew Kirwa closed out the scoring for the Tide with a time of 25:04.57 for a 33rd place finish.Senior Titus Koeh did not finish the race.
"It was a really good battle up front," cross country coach Joe Walker said. "I'm a little disappointed of course but I am pleased with the effort. My hat's off to Oregon and Portland who both ran great races today. We'll get ready for Pre-NCAA and see if we can put it all together."
Portland took the top two spots with David Kinsella winning the individual title with a time of 24:02.68, bettering the field by just three seconds. Kinsella's teammate Alfred Kipchumba placed second with a time of 24:05.48.
Five ranked teams competed in today's race with No. 1 Oregon claiming first place with 49 points. No. 7 Portland (56) placed second, No. 5 Alabama (62) took third and UCLA (106), who is also receiving votes in the polls, placed fourth. No. 23 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (144) rounded out the top five teams in scoring.
Tiger Invitational
In Auburn, the Tide took four freshmen runners to compete in order to gain experience on a national level.
The freshmen squad was led by Stephen Payne who covered the 8,000 meter course in 24:40.18, good enough for a 70th place finish. He was followed by Chase Volinski (148th) who ran a 26:23.21. Also finishing was David May (154th), crossing the line in 26:32.58. Nathan Corder did not finish the race.
Auburn was able to sweep the top three spots being led by Elkanah Kibet who posted a time of 22:16.35. Felix Kibiowyo placed second turning in a time of 22:40.24 and was followed by teammate Girma Mesecho who posted a time of 22:55.52 on the 8,000 meter course.
In team scoring, No. 21 Auburn won the meet with 31 points and was followed by Washington (49) who is also receiving votes in polls.
The men's cross country team will take a week off before competing again at the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Oct. 14. The squad will once again race against many of the top ranked teams in the nation on the same course that the NCAA Championships will be run on. This is the same course Alabama posted a sixth place team finish in 2007. It is the highest finish in school history.
