Alabama Earns At-Large Selection to NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships
11/12/2017 3:02:00 PM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Team berth is first for UA runners at national meet since 2010
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's cross country team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced Saturday.
Alabama finished third at the NCAA South Regional on Friday, narrowly missing a top-two finish that would have earned automatic qualification, but earned one of 13 at-large berths in the national meet.
"This is a significant moment for our program," Alabama head coach Dan Waters said. "Our goal coming into the season was to send our team to the NCAA Championships. We just missed an automatic berth on Friday but got some great news on Saturday. I'm so happy for this group. They've battled all year and we've had some very strong performances from our top runners to lead us to this point. I'm excited to see how we perform next weekend at the championship."
Alabama has been led by juniors Gilbert Kigen, Vincent Kiprop and Alfred Chelanga this season. The trio swept the top three spots at the SEC Championships on Oct. 27, with Kiprop taking the individual title and earning SEC Runner of the Year honors as Alabama finished second in the team standings. Kigen captured the South Region individual crown on Nov. 10 with Chelanga finishing second and Kiprop placing third to fuel the Tide's third-place finish.
The team appearance will be the first for Alabama since 2010, when the Tide finished 11th in the final appearance of a four-year run that saw UA post top-11 finishes in 2007 (sixth), 2008 (10th), 2009 (3rd) and 2010 (11th). The third-place finish in 2009 is a program-best.
The 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships will take place Nov. 18 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., with the men's race scheduled for 10:45 a.m. CT.
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