Alabama Cross Country's Mercy Chelangat Wins Joe Piane Invitational to Open 2021 Season

The Crimson Tide women finished third while Chelangat captured individual honors for her fourth-consecutive victory.

Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Junior Mercy Chelangat continues to win races. The Crimson Tide cross country runner isn't only the defending NCAA Champion, but she's unbeaten in four consecutive races counting the victory in the Joe Piane Invitational.

The sixth-ranked Alabama women collectively finished third with 147 points, trailing only No. 1 NC State and No. 3 New Mexico, while the fifteenth-ranked men's side finished sixth overall with 225 points.

Still, Chelangat, defending SEC and national champion, furthered her run of form and finished the five-kilometer race with a time of 16:10.3 to claim first place in South Bend, Indiana. 

Alabama rookie Flomena Asekol finished second in the women's competition, meanwhile, with a time of 16:10.7 which was edged by Chelangat. 

“For our women to go 1-2 in the individual race, especially against such a tough field, was great to see, especially with this being Mercy’s first race of the season," Crimson Tide coach Dan Waters said. "Overall, I think our women did well today against outstanding competition."

For the defending NCAA champion, however, she hasn't lost a competition since last season's Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee. 

In the 2021 spring season, Chelangat was a two-time SEC champion in winning the five thousand-meter and 10 thousand-meter run. A program record fell in her favor, also, as she set the Alabama mark in the 10 thousand-meter, finishing with the 24th-best score in NCAA history. 

"We’re still learning how to race as a team and both our men and women have some things to improve on, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction as we head toward the championship season," Waters said.

Up next, the Crimson Tide travels to Florida State on October 15 for the NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational.