NCAA SOUTH REGION CHAMPIONS: Crimson Tide Repeat as Champions
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
For two years now, the Tide has placed all five scoring runners in the top 20 at the meet and all five runners were named to the All-South Region team. Alabama's top five athletes were only separated by 52 seconds.
The men were led by junior Tyson David who finished in fifth place covering the 10,000 meter course in 31:13.13. A pack of three Alabama runners followed and were led by senior Augustus Maiyo in eighth (31:31.63). Senior Abraham Kutingala (31:31.80) and junior Emmanuel Bor (31:32.02) finished in 10th and 11th, respectively. Sophomore Andrew Kirwa (32:05.44) rounded out Alabama's top five runners by crossing the line in 18th place.
The freshman duo of Stephen Payne (34:12.63) and Zac Edwards (34:44.46) were the final two finishers for the Crimson Tide coming through in 76th and 92nd place, respectively.
This is the third time in just four years that the Tide has had its top five runners named to the All-South Region team. The squads in 2005 and 2007 had equal success. However, this is the first time in school history that Alabama has won the conference championship and the region championship in the same year.
"This win has to do a lot with the type of athletes we have and them consistently performing at a high level," head track and field coach Harvey Glance said. "Coach Walker has done a good job of keeping the guys healthy and hopefully we can finish in the top five at nationals next week."
There were 147 competitors in the race. Felix Kibioywo of Auburn won the individual title with a time of 30:45.91. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the race, but were unable to bring home the title over the Crimson Tide.
In team scoring, Alabama won the title with 49 points, besting 21 other teams. Auburn was a close second tallying 59 points. Florida State (6), Florida (133) and Tennessee (156) rounded out the top five spots, respectively.
The top two teams, Alabama and Auburn, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. next week. Florida State and Florida still have a chance to be selected by the NCAA as at-large participants.
"It's a good feeling to get the win, but in reality, the guys did a great job of understanding that this was a qualifier and they ran very smart as a group," cross country coach Joe Walker said. "They talked the whole way through and made sure that we gave a 90 percent type effort, which was good enough to get through to next week's NCAA Championships."
The squad will gear up for the NCAA Championships being held next week on Monday, Nov. 24. Maiyo is returning to Terre Haute as last year's 18th place finisher in the meet earning All-American. In 2007, the Tide put together the highest finish in school history of sixth.
