Alabama
NCAA Championships
Alabama Set for Saturday’s NCAA Cross Country Championship Races in Stillwater
11/18/2022 5:25:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Saturday marks the third time, and second in a row, that the Crimson Tide men and women will race at the national championships in the same year
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Alabama men and women are set to brave the cold of Stillwater, Okla., when they toe the line on Saturday for the NCAA Cross Country Championships at The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.
The No.5-ranked Crimson Tide women, led by Mercy Chelangat, who won UA's first individual NCAA cross country title on this same course two years ago, and Amaris Tyynismaa, who was third at those same championships, race 6-kilometers starting at 9:20 a.m. CT.
The No. 25-ranked Alabama men, led by Victor Kiprop, who is undefeated this season including wins at the Southeastern Conference NCAA South Regional Championships, will get the 10-kilometer race underway at 10:10 a.m. CT.
Both races will be broadcast live and uninterrupted on ESPU and will be streamed via www.espn.com and the ESPN App. Live results can be found on www.PTTiming.com.
Alabama Head Coach Dan Waters Said
"We've had a really amazing season, one we're really proud of, one that includes the men and women winning SEC team titles in the same season for the first time in program history and both teams advancing to the NCAA Championships in the same season for the third time. There's really nothing left to do at this point but just go out there on Saturday and leave it all on the course. This is the fun part."
The Crimson Tide in Stillwater
- The women's NCAA Championships travel squad consists of Flomena Asekol, Mercy Chelangat, Elka Machan, Sam McDonnell, Hilda Olemomoi, Jami Reed, Amaris Tyynismaa and Lilly Walters
- The travel squad for the Alabama men in Stillwater includes Brady Barton, Hillary Cheruiyot, Brady Grant, Jacob Harris, Victor Kiprop, Eliud Kipsang, Will Pinson, Gavin Saacke and Jacob Wiggers
Alabama at the NCAA Cross Country Championships
- The UA women come into this year's NCAA Championships after winning their first Southeastern Conference title since 1987 and their first NCAA South Regional Championship since 1986
- The Tide women put its entire scoring five in the top 20 on the way to winning the 2022 SEC and NCAA South Regional titles
- This year's appearance marks the first time the Tide women have earned back-to-back-to-back NCAA Championship berths in program history
- Mercy Chelangat became UA's first individual NCAA cross country champion during the 2020 season, and finished second last season
- In addition to Chelangat earning back-to-back cross country All-America honors, the Crimson Tide has two more All-Americans – Amaris Tyynismaa and Flomena Asekol – pacing Alabama at this year's national championships
- The Alabama women were 15th at last season's NCAA Championships after taking eighth during the 2020 season
- The Crimson Tide men earned an at-large bid to this year's championships after winning their first SEC team title since 2009 and finishing third at the NCAA South Regional Championships in Huntsville, Ala.
- The Tide men put their entire scoring five in the top 28 on the way to winning the 2022 SEC title
- The UA men are making back-to-back NCAA Championships appearances for the first time since 2009 and 2010
- Victor Kiprop, who has gone undefeated this season, including decisive wins at the SEC and NCAA South Regional Championships, leads the Crimson Tide along with fellow track All-Americans Eliud Kipsang and Hillary Cheruiyot
- The men finished 27th last season in Tallahassee, Fla.
Last Time in Stillwater
- The last time the Crimson Tide raced in Stillwater, was when the women took eighth at the NCAA Championships, bolstered by Mercy Chelangat's and Amaris Tyynismaa's top-three finishes
- The 2020 NCAA Championships were postponed until March of 2021 due to the CoVID-19 pandemic
- It was the second-best team finish in program history, after taking sixth in 1987
- Chelangat set the course record of 20:01.1 that included a blistering last 1,000 meters over the infamously hilly run
- The marks the first time that the Alabama men have raced in Stillwater at the NCAA Championships
Alabama's 2022 Postseason Honors
- Victor Kiprop, the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year, was voted the 2022 SEC Runner of the Year, while Hilda Olemomoi earned SEC Freshman of the Year accolades and Dan Waters became the first UA coach in program history to be named both the men's and women's SEC Cross Country Coach of the Year
- Kiprop is undefeated this season, including winning the SEC and NCAA South Regional titles
- He is the second Alabama student-athlete in a row to be named the men's SEC Runner of the Year, following Eliud Kipsang in 2021
- Overall, Alabama has earned men's SEC Runner of the Year accolades nine times, including five of the last eight
- Olemomoi finished third or better in every race this season, including taking third at the SEC Championships and the NCAA South Regional Championships
- She earned a trio of SEC Freshman of the Week honors
- The rookie is the third member of the UA women's program to earn SEC Freshman of the Year recognition for cross country, following Ashley LaBudde (1998) and Dawn Boggs (1999)
- Waters led Alabama to its first women's SEC title since 1987 and its first by the men since 2009
- This year's titles also mark the first time that Alabama has won both the men's and women's championships in the same season
- The Crimson Tide is the first program outside of Arkansas to win the men's and women's titles in the same year since 1990
- Alabama also advanced both the men and women to the NCAA Championships in the same season for the third time in program history and the second year in a row
- Alabama saw eight student-athletes earn NCAA All-South Region honors in 2022, including five women and three men
- All five members of Alabama's scoring five on the women's side earned the regional honor, including Flomena Asekol, Mercy Chelangat, Elka Machan, Olemomoi and Amaris Tyynismaa
- The men's trio of regional honorees includes Hillary Cheruiyot, Jacob Harris and Kiprop
- Half of the First Team All-SEC honors were collected by Alabama, including four women and three men
- The 2022 individual SEC champion, Kiprop, was joined on the men's first-team list by Cheruiyot and Eliud Kipsang
- On the women's side of the slate, Alabama put four on the First Team All-SEC list, including Chelangat, Olemomoi, Tyynismaa and Asekol.
- Olemomoi and Will Pinson also earned SEC All-Freshman honors
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Players Mentioned
