The Alabama cross country squads return to action Friday in Huntsville, Ala., with the North Alabama Showcase at the John Hunt Cross Country Park, the site of this year's NCAA South Regional Championships.
The No. 25-ranked men's team will toe the line at 7:30 a.m. and race over an 8-kilometer course, while the women's event gets underway at 8:15 a.m., and will take place over 5 kilometers.
The Rankings
- The Alabama women are ranked No. 10 nationally, No. 1 in the NCAA South Region and were No. 1 in the preseason Southeastern Conference poll
- The Crimson Tide women are ranked No. 25 in the nation, No. 1 in the NCAA South Region and were No. 1 in the preseason SEC poll
- There are more than 40 team slated to compete in this year's North Alabama Showcase, including Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi State from the Southeastern Conference
- On the women's side of the race, Georgia Tech is No. 9, Auburn is No. 10, Georgia is No. 12 and UCF and Kennesaw State are No. 13 and 14, respectively, in the South Region
- In addition to five teams ranked in the South Region, the women's race will include No. 8 New Orleans from the South Central Region and No. 4 Kentucky and No. 13 Eastern Kentucky from the Southeast Region
- On the men's side, Memphis is No. 9, Georgia Tech is No. 13, South Alabama is No. 14 and Auburn is No. 15 in the South Region
- The men's race also features No. 10 Lamar and No. 11 New Orleans from the South Central Region and No. 9 Kentucky from the Southeast Region
- The Alabama men's and women's cross country teams swept the Lion Opener in Florence, Ala., on Sept. 1 to open the 2022 season
- The women tallied 18 points to win the meet, led by Macy Schelp, who picked up the individual title after running a 14:07.36 over the 4,000-meter course
- Will Pinson led the men to 22 points and the win after taking second in the individual race with a 15:10.09 over the 5-kilometer course
- Schelp and Pinson were both named SEC Freshman Runners of the Week following the meet
- The Crimson Tide men won the 2021 North Alabama Showcase after sweeping the top-three individual spots, while the women's team finished third
- Alabama's men dominated the men's race, scoring 25 points, while the women tallied 126 points on the day
- Victor Kiprop picked up individual gold in his Crimson Tide debut, crossing the line with a 23:20.85 over the 8-kilometer course, followed closely by Eliud Kipsang in second and Hillary Cheruiyot in third
- Jacob Wiggers took seventh and Carson Burian rounded out the team's scoring five with a 12th place finish
- In addition to Kiprop, it was Cheruiyot's and Burian's first race wearing the crimson and white for the Tide
- Flomena Asekol led the way for the UA women, taking second place with a time of 16:36.24.
- The rest of Alabama's scoring five finished in a tight bunch with Riley Schelp in 33rd, followed by Sophie Spada in 34th, Kerri Walsh in 36th and Kaylie Crews in 37th
- Following the meet Kiprop was named SEC Runner of the Week and Cheruiyot was named SEC Freshman Runner of the Week
Original source can be found here.
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