Alabama Cross-Country's Mercy Chelangat Wins NCAA Individual Title

Chelangat finished first in the women's 6,000-meter race with a time of 20.01.1

Alabama Athletics

Alabama cross-country junior Mercy Chelangat took home the individual title in the women's 6,000-meter race at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships on Monday in Stillwater, Okla.

Chelangat finished the race with a time of 20:01.1. The title is the first individual title in Crimson Tide program history.

Congratulations to Mercy Chelangat, of @AlabamaTrack, your DI Women's Cross Country
champion! 🏆#NCAAXC pic.twitter.com/RpLq0nrMBT

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) March 15, 2021

Alabama's Amaris Tyynismaa finished third in the race with a time of 20.10.2 behind Oklahoma State's Taylor Roe (20.06.7). Despite winning both the individual gold and bronze in the race, the Crimson Tide finished eighth overall in the event.

BYU ultimately won the team event with an overall score of 96 points. The event is usually held in the fall, but was postponed from 2020 to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first 1,000 meters of the race, Chelangat held third place with Alabama teammate Esther Gitahi holding fourth. The first major hill of the race shook up the top of the list, with BYU senior Whittni Orton taking the lead heading into the 3,000-meter mark.

At the 13:21 mark of the race, Orton crossed 4,000 meters with Tyynismaa trailing just behind her in second place and Roe in third.

Just after the 5,000-meter mark, Chelangat pulled up in the pack and gained the lead, creating a gap and pulling away. Roe advanced behind her, followed by Tyynismaa in third. Chelangat continued to widen her gap between Roe in second and the top three would finish first, second and third.

Gitahi placed 36th in the race, falling behind after the first 1,000 meters. Alabama's Megan Patton, Sophie Spada, Jami Reed and Riley Schelp finished 134th, 174th, 242nd and 252nd, respectively.

Gold and Bronze for the Crimson & White of Alabama!#BamaDistance #RollTide pic.twitter.com/7En3LwZHh9

— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) March 15, 2021

NCAA Top-10 Team Finishers

1. BYU 96 points

2. NC State 161 points

3. Stanford 207 points

4. Michigan State 212 points

5. Minnesota 239 points

6. New Mexico 274 points

7. Colorado 279 points

8. Alabama 280 points

9. Boise State 304 points

10. Arkansas 316 points

Alabama’s Individual Finishers

1. Mercy Chelangat 20:01.1

3. Amaris Tyynismaa 20:10.2

36. Esther Gitahi 20:57.4

134. Megan Patton 21:45.4

174. Sophie Spada 22:06.3

242. Jami Reed 23:11.4

252. Riley Schelp 25:31.0