Alabama
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Kigen, Kiprop and Chelanga Earn All-America Honors at NCAA Cross Country Championships
11/18/2017 12:20:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
The Crimson Tide finish two in the top-10 and three in the top-40 for the first time in program history
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Alabama men's cross country finished 14th with 420 points at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park. Juniors Gilbert Kigen, Vincent Kiprop and Alfred Chelanga all earned All-America honors.
Kigen completed the 10,000-meter race in 29:11.9, which ranks as the third-fastest time in school history, and finished fourth. Vincent Kiprop finished seventh in 29:27.2, which ranks No. 7 in program history. Fellow UA junior Alfred Chelanga finished 37th in 29:58.4.
"I know I did my best for an individual," Kigen said. "As a team, we came here and did our best. We all ran very well. I am just so happy for the team to come here and finish 14th overall. It is a great way to end the season."
Kigen, Kiprop and Chelanga are the first Crimson Tide trio to earn All-America honors in cross country in the same year and Kigen and Kiprop gave the Tide two top-10 NCAA finishers for the first time in school history.
"We had a great performance today, especially finishing three in the top 40 and finishing 14th as a team overall," head coach Dan Waters said. "As a team, this was one of the best efforts this year, especially on one of the toughest courses in the country. Everyone was ready to go and did what they needed to do to finish well as a team. This is a great way to cap off the cross country season and move into the track season on a high note."
Alabama also received solid performances from seniors Garrett Bull (32:03.2) and Andrew Bull (32:06.2), who finished 223rd and 227th, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Tide.
Northern Arizona (74 points) won the men's team championship. Justyn Knight of Syracuse seized the individual title.
NCAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park
Louisville, Ky.
Host: University of Louisville
Men's 10,000-Meter Team Results
1. Northern Arizona (74 points)
2. Portland (127)
3. BYU (165)
4. Stanford (221)
5. Arkansas (259)
6. Oregon (274)
7. Iowa State (279)
8. Colorado (294)
9. Colorado State (318)
10. Michigan (328)
11. Southern Utah (334)
12. Iona (373)
13. Syracuse (406)
14. ALABAMA (420)
15. Air Force (429)
Alabama Individual Men's Results
4. Gilbert Kigen, Jr., 29:11.9
7. Vincent Kiprop, Jr., 29:27.2
37. Alfred Chelanga, Jr., 29:58.4
223. Garrett Bull, Sr., 32:03.2
227. Andrew Bull, Sr., 32:06.3
240. Evan Prizy, Sr., 32:40.0
243. J.P. Brinyark, 32:59.6
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Players Mentioned
