Alabama Cross Country Travels North for Joe Piane Invitational

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Alabama men’s and women’s cross country squads return to the course Friday for the nationally competitive Joe Piane Invitational in what will be the final road trip of the 2023 regular season.

The No. 22-ranked UA women will start their 5,000-meter race across the Burke Golf Course at 9:30 a.m. CT amongst a field that includes four top-30 teams, led by No. 1 NC State. The No. 27-ranked UA men will close the Joe Piane Invitational at 10:15 a.m. with their five-mile race. Their field features five schools either ranked or receiving votes, including host school No. 9 Notre Dame.

Friday’s meet marks the Crimson Tide’s third-straight road contest of the season, and the final race before its Crimson Classic home meet on Friday, Oct. 13.

Crimson Tide in the Rankings

• The Alabama women are ranked No. 22 nationally/No. 4 in the South Region, while the men enter at No. 27 in the nation/No. 3 in the South Region
• Two UA runners find themselves ranked in the top 15 of FloTrack’s 2023 NCAA cross country women’s individual rankings

  • Crimson Tide newcomer Doris Lemngole holds steady at No. 3, while reigning SEC Women’s Freshman of the Year honoree Hilda Olemomoi sits at No. 11
  • Alabama is one of only two schools, and the only SEC school, with multiple athletes listed in the top 11 nationally

The Field

• The women’s “Blue” race features four ranked programs: No. 1 NC State, No. 4 Notre Dame (host), No. 22 Alabama and No. 28 Florida State
• The men’s “Blue” race features four ranked programs: No. 9 Notre Dame (host), No. 21 NC State, No. 27 Alabama and No. 28 Montana State, as well as Florida State who is receiving votes in the USTFCCCA Week Two coaches’ poll

Last Time Out

• Alabama’s men and women recorded two top-five team finishes at the Southern Showcase, marking the second consecutive race both sides placed in the top five
• The Tide men finished third (110 points), while the UA women finished fourth (108 points)
• Jacob Harris (11^th) and Carson Burian (14^th) clocked the two fastest times on the men’s squad, while Doris Lemngole (1^st) and Elka Machan (15^th) also recorded a pair of top-15 finishes on the women’s side
• In her first collegiate race, Lemngole claimed her first individual title

  • Her time (16:12.10) was over thirty seconds faster than the second-place finisher and was the second-fastest reported 5K time of the…