Alabama
NCAA South Regional
Gilbert Kigen Earns Second NCAA South Regional Title; Vincent Kiprop Finishes Runner-Up
11/15/2019 2:58:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Three Crimson Tide men punch tickets to the 2019 NCAA Championships
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Alabama graduate Gilbert Kigen put together another strong showing to claim his second individual NCAA South Regional title, while fellow Crimson Tide graduate Vincent Kiprop finished runner-up at the NCAA Cross Country South Regional on Friday morning.
"First off, I will start by thanking my coaches, my teammates, my family and everyone at Alabama who has supported me in so many ways," Kigen said. "My teammates are awesome, I am so proud of them; we did something as a team. As an individual, I'm just proud of myself and what I did today. I'm just excited for Nationals and to see what I can do from there."
#RollTide!
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) November 15, 2019
Alabama goes 1??&2??in the South Region Men's 10K with Gilbert Kigen taking the title with 2??9??:4??9??.5?? pic.twitter.com/kEc5Ox72yO
With the top individual victories at regionals, Kigen, Kiprop and freshman Noel Rotich automatically earned NCAA Championships appearances. As a team, the men will await their fate for an at-large bid to nationals, with that field set to be announced Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4 p.m.
"On the men's side, I don't know if you can go better than first, second and sixth; that was a pretty special performance," head coach Dan Waters said. "Not disappointed at all, more proud than anything else. It has been a good year for us, and we'll just see what happens in the next 24 hours and see if we can advance as a team to NCAA Championships, if not we'll go with the three individuals and let it ride."
Leading the Lineup for the Men
- The Alabama men placed third (97 points) out of 24 Division I teams, marking its second top-three finish in the last three seasons.
- Ole Miss (69) won the men's team championship and Middle Tennessee (83) finished second to clinch team berths in the NCAA Championships.
- After finishing as runner-up at the 2019 SEC Championships (Nov. 1), Kigen (29:49.5) outkicked teammate Kiprop (29:49.9) in the final second.
- Kigen claimed his second men's South Region individual crown, marking the third consecutive year Alabama has nabbed the individual title.
- Individually, the UA men have won seven South Region individual titles - three by David Kimani (2000, 2001, 2002), two by Gilbert Kigen (2017, 2019) and one by Antibahs Kosgei (2015) and Alfred Chelanga (2018).
- Freshman Rotich followed close behind and crossed the finish line in sixth place with a time of 30:21.8 to claim All-South Region honors along with Kigen and Kiprop.
- Alabama also received solid performances from senior J.P. Brinyark (31:33.3) and junior Elliot Gindi (31:38.0), who finished 43rd and 47th, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Tide.
"I thought they [women] did a fantastic job," Waters said. "We had three of the top-25 girls run really really hard. I am also happy for the girls that ran four, five, six and seven for us, they did a good job. They had some of the better runs of the entire year. It was tight, there was just a couple points between third and seventh, so we ended up on the wrong side of that, but that's the sport and that's how it goes. I know they ran their hardest and I am proud of the way they competed. Coach [Will] Palmer did a fantastic job all year long."
NCAA South All-Region ??
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) November 15, 2019
????? Gilbert Kigen (1st, 29:49.5)
????? Vincent Kiprop (2nd, 29:49.9)
????? Noel Rotich (6th, 30:21.8)#RollTide pic.twitter.com/x4LURVd8ua
Leading the Lineup for the Women
- Three Alabama women earned All-South Region recognition to conclude the season with a sixth-place finish over the 6K course.
- The Crimson Tide scoring was led by sophomore Mercy Chelangat's top-10 performance (9th, 20:33.4).
- UA senior Rebecca Buteau finished 14th (20:36.9), and freshman Allison Wilson posted the fastest time among all freshman in the field (21st, 20:42.5)
- The Crimson Tide women had the same top-five finishers from SEC Championships. Seniors Alexa Cruz (63rd, 21:39.3) and Haley Wright (65th, 21:41.1) rounded out the scorers for UA once again.
NCAA South All-Region ??
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) November 15, 2019
????? Mercy Chelangat (9th, 20:33.4)
????? Rebecca Buteau (14th, 20:36.9)
????? Allison Wilson (21st, 20:42.5)#RollTide pic.twitter.com/E1mdnXiOfR
Men's 10K Team Scores
1. No. 11 Ole Miss – 69
2. No. 15 Middle Tennessee – 83
3. No. 28 Alabama – 97
4. (RV) Florida State – 136
5. Georgia Tech – 169
6. Lipscomb – 205
7. North Florida – 220
8. Florida – 220
9. Belmont – 246
10. East Tennessee State – 259
11. Vanderbilt – 303
12. Tennessee – 320
13. Georgia – 364
14. Samford – 374
15. Auburn – 374
16. UT Martin – 394
17. Mississippi State – 396
18. South Alabama – 417
19. Stetson – 431
20. Mercer – 607
21. Chattanooga – 620
22. Miami – 630
23. Florida Atlantic – 716
24. FIU – 736
Men's Individual Results
1. Gilbert Kigen, 29:49.5
2. Vincent Kiprop, 29:49.9
6. Noel Rotich, 30:21.8
43. J.P. Brinyark, 31:33.3
47. Elliot Gindi, 31:38.0
58. Elliott Miller, 31:52.6
107. Jacob Wiggers, 32:59.6
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. No. 12 Florida State – 42
2. No. 27 Ole Miss – 100
3. Tennessee – 144
4. Georgia Tech – 154
5. Vanderbilt – 166
6. Alabama – 167
7. Georgia – 178
8. Florida – 189
9. Auburn – 218
10. Lipscomb – 258
11. (RV) Middle Tennessee – 295
12. Southern Miss – 310
13. South Alabama – 360
14. Mississippi State – 411
15. Belmont – 447
16. Samford – 490
17. UT Martin – 528
18. UAB – 552
19. Memphis – 563
20. Chattanooga – 573
21. North Florida – 594
22. South Florida – 618
23. East Tennessee State – 641
24. FIU – 665
25. Florida Atlantic – 692
26. Troy – 692
27. Alabama State – 824
Women's Individual Results
9. Mercy Chelangat, 20:33.4
14. Rebecca Buteau, 20:36.9
21. Allison Wilson, 20:42.5
63. Alexa Cruz, 21:39.3
65. Haley Wright, 21:41.1
75. Lauren Brackin, 21:50.3
102. Leahrose Mami, 22:20.5
Up Next
Alabama will head north to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Saturday, Nov. 23, at Indiana State's LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.
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.
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