LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Alabama men’s cross country finished 14th in the nation, with 420 points, at the 2017 NCAA cross country championships on Saturday morning at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
Juniors Gilbert Kigen, Vincent Kiprop and Alfred Chelanga all earned All-America honors.
Kigen completed the 10,000-meter race in fourth overall with a time of 29:11.9, which ranks as the third-fastest time in school history. Kiprop finished seventh at 29:27.2, which ranks seventh in program history. Chelanga finished 37th in 29:58.4.
“I know I did my best for an individual,” Kigen said. “As a team, we came here and did our best. We all ran very well. I am just so happy for the team to come here and finish 14th overall. It is a great way to end the season.”
Kigen, Kiprop and Chelanga are the first Crimson Tide trio to earn All-America honors in cross country in the same year. Kigen and Kiprop gave the Tide two top-10 NCAA finishers for the first time in school history.
“We had a great performance today, especially finishing three in the top 40 and finishing 14th as a team overall,” Alabama coach Dan Waters said. “As a team, this was one of the best efforts this year, especially on one of the toughest courses in the country. Everyone was ready to go and did what they needed to do to finish well as a team. This is a great way to cap off the cross country season and move into the track season on a high note.”
Northern Arizona (74 points) won the men’s team championship. Justyn Knight of Syracuse seized the individual title.
