Alabama's Doris Lemngole Wins NCAA Cross Country Individual National Championship

The Crimson Tide sophomore superstar adds perhaps the biggest accolade to her already-filled trophy case.

Alabama Track & Field's (Cross Country/Distance) Macy Schelp, Doris Lemngole, Kate Dickman and Lilly Walters celebrate during NCAA National Championship at Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, WI on Saturday, Nov 23, 2024. / Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Alabama cross country sophomore superstar Doris Lemngole won the NCAA Cross Country Individual 6k National Championship on Saturday.

Lemngole broke away late in the race to a finish with not a single runner in front of her, clocking 19:21.0 to capture her first cross country individual championship and her second national title in five months (3,000-meter steeplechase).

"What an amazing performance by Doris," Alabama head coach Dan Waters said in a press release. It was a phenomenal run and race strategy down the stretch to pull away and win her first cross country national title, and second NCAA title in five months. We are so proud of her. Overall, our women did a wonderful job today under Nick's (Stenuf) guidance, earning our third top-10 finish in as many seasons. On the men's side, we posted our 12th top-20 finish in program history, but if we'd been more aggressive as a whole, we could have finished even higher.

"This was a really good season, collectively, and it sets us up for an exciting track and field season."

Simply put, Lemngole can't stop winning at Alabama.

Lemngole was named the SEC's 2024 Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Oct. 30, as per the voting results from the conference's head coaches. Lemngole is the first Alabama women's cross country athlete to be named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year since Mercy Chelangat took home the prestigious honor in 2021.

Lemngole, who maintains a 4.0 GPA and is a 2024 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll member and USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree, is a four-time All-American with dominating runs throughout her Crimson Tide career.

In 2023, Lemngole was named the SEC Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Year and was the runner-up in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. But 2024 has simply belonged to her as she was named the NCAA Division I Cross Country Regular Season MVP after being named the aforementioned national champion in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor track & field Championships.

Overall, the Alabama women's team finished in 10th place while the men's team was 18th.

Alabama Women – Individual Results | 6k

1. Doris Lemngole | 19:21.0
29. Brenda Tuwei | 19:58.8
86. Addison Dorenkamp | 20:28.3
87. Pheline Mining | 20:28.4
177. Lilly Walters | 21:00.5
223. Kate Dickman | 21:25.2
232. Jami Reed | 21:35.0

Alabama Men – Individual Results | 10k

41. Dismus Lokira | 29:25.3
51. Victor Kiprop | 29:33.9
75. Dennis Kipruto | 29:43.5
193. Hillary Cheruiyot | 30:43.1
196. Hudson Hurst | 30:44.7
240. Jack Hawes | 31:39.1
241. Evan Trapp | 31:41.2