Alabama Women Dominate NCAA South Regional in Cross Country, Men Third

The Crimson Tide women earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, while the men are looking for an at-large bid

BamaCentral Staff | Nov 11, 2022

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Alabama women’s cross country team won the 2022 NCAA South Regional Championships at the John Hunt Running Park on Friday morning, securing an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Championships.

The men took third and are looking for an at-large bid to nationals. The field will be announced Saturday.

The Alabama women opened the day by placing first four runners in the top five, its scoring five in the top 20 and all seven runners in the top 50. The women scored 34 points to finish 54 points ahead of second-place Florida State.

“Our women did an outstanding job today," Alabama head coach Dan Waters said. "They shut the door on the rest of the field early on and ran with confidence throughout. This is the first regional title for the women since 1986 and they won it in style.

"The men had a tough time today, but we feel like our body of work throughout the season should be enough for an at-large bid to nationals. With just the NCAA Championships ahead of us, we’re looking to close this great season off strong.”

The Women’s Race

The Crimson Tide went 2-3-4-5-20 to tally 34 points for the win, bettering second-place Florida State by 54 points
It was the fourth NCAA regional title for the UA women and first since 1986
Amaris Tyynismaa (19:35.1), Hilda Olemomoi (19:35.3) and Mercy Chelangat (19:35.6) finished within half a second of one another, taking second, third and fourth, respectively
Flomena Asekol (19:41.5) took fifth place to give UA a 2-3-4-5 run at the top of the lineup
Elka Machan (20:21.5) took 20th to round out Alabama’s scoring five and give UA the win
Jami Reed (20:52.8) took 43rd and Sam McDonnell (21:06.8) finished 49th to put Alabama’s entire lineup in the top 50

The Men’s Race

Alabama’s Victor Kiprop (29:21.20) won his fifth individual race of the season to lead the men to a third-place team finish with 73 points, just four points out of second place
Kiprop closed extremely well, winning the individual title by seven seconds
Hillary Cheruiyot (29:38.60) took eighth place for UA’s other top-10 finish
Jacob Harris (30:01.40) took 15th, while Eliud Kipsang (30:32.50) was 28th and Brady Grant (30:50.80) took 34th to round out Alabama’s scoring five
Brady Barton (30:58.40) was 40th and Will Pinson (31:47.20) took 81st to finish off the Tide’s lineup

Up Next

The NCAA Championships will bring the 2022 cross country season to a close Saturday, Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla.

Selection Process for NCAA Meet

The NCAA Division I Men's & Women's Cross Country Selection Show will air Saturday, November 12th at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

• A total of 31 teams will earn bids to the upcoming NCAA Division I Championships via Friday’s competition. Eighteen (18) bids are automatic (the top two teams in each of nine regions), and 13 at-large team selections will be announced on Saturday.

• After teams have been determined, 38 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships. Among individuals NOT selected as members of qualifying teams in the above process, the top four finishers at each regional meet are automatically selected (each must have finished within the top 25 of the region).

At-large selection: Two additional athletes will be selected from the remainder of the national pool (and must have finished in the regional top 25) as at-large individuals.

NCAA South Regional Championships

Huntsville, Ala. | John Hunt Running Park

Women's Team Top-10 - 6-kilometers

Alabama 34 pts
Florida State 88 pts
Ole Miss 124 pts
Lipscomb 131 pts
Tennessee 144 pts
Georgia Tech 165 pts
Florida 167 pts
Southern Miss 287 pts
Middle Tennessee State 317 pts
Vanderbilt 327 pts

Alabama Women's Finishes

2. Amaris Tyynismaa 19:35.1
3. Hilda Olemomoi 19:35.3
4. Mercy Chelangat 19:35.6
5. Flomena Asekol 19:41.5
20. Elka Machan 20:21.5
43. Jami Reed 20:52.8
49. Sam McDonnell 21:06.8

Men’s Team Top-10 – 10-kilometer

Tennessee 39 pts
Ole Miss 69 pts
Alabama 73 pts
Florida State 134 pts
Auburn 204 pts
Lipscomb 206 pts
Georgia Tech 229 pts
North Florida 234 pts
Georgia 249 pts
East Tennessee State 261 pts

Alabama Men's Finishes

1. Victor Kiprop 29:21.20
8. Hillary Cheruiyot 29:38.60
15. Jacob Harris 30:01.40
28. Eliud Kipsang 30:32.50
34. Brady Grant 30:50.80
40. Brady Barton 30:58.40
81. Will Pinson 31:47.20