Crimson Tide's Vincent Kiprop Wins Second SEC Cross Country Title

Alabama men finish second while women finish fifth at the conference meet

Alabama Athletics

Alabama graduate student Vincent Kiprop led from wire-to-wire en route to claiming his second individual men's title at the Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships at the at Kentucky on Friday.

As a team, the Crimson Tide men placed runner-up behind No. 11 Ole Miss, who won its second consecutive SEC team title. Alabama had three runners finish in the top-10 individually.

 Meanwhile, the women finished fifth, marking the first top-five team finish since 2015.

Kiprop circled the 8K course at 22:51.6 to headline an Alabama sweep of the top two spots as fellow UA graduate student Gilbert Kigen (22:55.4) finished second.

Kiprop and Kigen's finish marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that Alabama has landed at least one runner in the top three in the men's cross country championships. Antibahs Kosgei led the assault claiming the 2015 SEC title, then Kiprop, Kigen and Alfred Chelanga finished 1-2-3, respectively, at the 2017 meet, while last year, Chelanga finished second in the conference.

Freshman Noel Rotich recorded his second top-15 performance of the season, finishing in 10th place at 23:21.3 for All-SEC distinctions on the Second-Team and All-Freshman honors.

“Proud of Vincent and Gilbert, they ran really tough,” head coach Dan Waters said. “Noel did as well, finishing in the top-10 is outstanding for him as a freshman. To secure us a second-place finish, I am super proud of the way they competed and the way they took on the task to hold down our scoring positions. I could not be prouder.”

Alabama Athletics

For the women, sophomore Mercy Chelangat earned her first All-SEC honor with a second-team finish, finishing 10th overall at 20:38.1 in the 6K.

Chelangat was one of three Alabama women to finish within the top-30, followed by senior Rebecca Buteau (22nd, 20:52.9) and freshman Allison Wilson (26, 20:54.9).

Wilson was the second freshman to cross the finish line, earning All-Freshman accolades.

“The women were outstanding, just so close to being third in the SEC. I think they were third at the 5k with a little over 1,000 meters to go. They slid back a little, but it was not because of their lack of effort, they were grinding hard. We have a lot of young freshman that are doing some really good things. Overall, I think it was a really successful day.”

Alabama will run the NCAA South Regional Championships at Florida State, on Nov. 15.

Men’s 8K Team Results

1. No. 11 Ole Miss – 35
2. (RV) Alabama – 90
3. (RV) Arkansas – 121
4. Kentucky – 124
5. Texas A&M – 141
6. Florida – 160
7. Missouri – 162
8. LSU – 220
9. Tennessee – 221
10. Vanderbilt – 239
11. Georgia – 261
12. Auburn – 269

Men’s Individual Results

1. Vincent Kiprop, 22:51.6

2. Gilbert Kigen, 22:55.4

10. Noel Rotich, 23:21.3

37. J.P. Brinyark, 24:06.5

45. Elliott Miller, 24:16.7

46. Elliot Gindi, 24:18.2

67. Jacob Wiggers, 24:42.1

92. Jalen Murray, 25:30.1

103. Nicholas Ceci, 26:01.5

105. Scott Platek, 26:09.9

Alabama Athletics

Women’s 6K Team Results

1. No. 1 Arkansas – 21
2. (RV) Ole Miss – 93
3. Missouri – 159
4. Tennessee – 170
5. Alabama – 171
6. Vanderbilt – 176
7. Kentucky – 179
8. Georgia – 184
9. Texas A&M – 189
10. Auburn – 229
11. Florida – 243
12. Mississippi State – 337
13. LSU – 349
14. South Carolina – 367

Women’s Individual Results

10. Mercy Chelangat, 20:38.1

22. Rebecca Buteau, 20:52.9

26. Allison Wilson, 20:54.9

58. Alexa Cruz, 21:36.0

65. Haley Wright, 21:44.5

67. Lauren Brackin, 21:50.5

94. Leahrose Mami, 22:25.7

102. Brittany Tolson, 22:32.3

115. Shannon Marsh, 22:57.9

DNF Amaris Tyynismaa