Alabama Cross Country Teams Return to Action at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday

Alabama Cross Country Teams Return to Action at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday

9/28/2016 1:59:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country

Alabama Cross Country Notes SEC Weekly Release

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's and women's cross country teams travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Sept. 30. The women will run a 5,000-meter race beginning at 1 p.m. CT with the men running a five-mile race at 1:45 p.m. A total of 52 women's teams and 50 men's teams will compete this weekend. Southeastern Conference teams in the field include the Ole Miss and Texas A&M men and women and the Vanderbilt women.

In the Rankings

The Crimson Tide women's team is No. 4 and the men's team is No. 5 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region rankings released Sept. 27.

18 Runners Set to Compete in South Bend

The Crimson Tide will travel 18 athletes - nine men and nine women - to South Bend on Friday. Competing for the men's squad will be seniors Payton, Ballard, Robbie Farnham-Rose, Antibahs Kosgei, Evan Prizy and Conner Thompson; juniors Andrew Bull, Garrett Bull and Josh Short and freshman James Brinyark. The Alabama women will run senior Hannah Waggoner; juniors Caroline Barlow and Emily Edwards; sophomores Calli Coggins and Rachael Reddy and freshmen Rebecca Buteau, Alexa Cruz, Elisabeth Danis and McKenzie Yanek.

Kosgei Tops SEC Men's 5K and Four-Mile Lists

Alabama's Antibahs Kosgei has the top 5K time of any SEC men's runner so far this season. Kosgei finished fourth at the Chattanooga Powerade Invitational in a time of 14:57.13. Kosgei also holds the top 4-mile time in the conference with his 19:11.13 performance at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic on Sept. 3.

Head Coach Dan Waters' Outlook

"The break has been good for the team and given us a chance to build up for the finish to the regular season. We have a good feel for where we are as a team right now and I'm looking forward to seeing how we compete this weekend."

Up Next

The Tide will be off next weekend before hosting the Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Park Oct. 13-14. The meet will feature high school varsity and junior varsity races on Thursday , Oct. 13, beginning at 3 p.m. CT. The college races on Friday will include a number of top teams from around the region competing in an 8k men's race and a 5k women's race. The Friday men's race will begin at 9 a.m. CT with the women's race scheduled to follow at 9:45 a.m.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaTrack on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.