Lemngole Captures Second Individual Crown, Alabama Earns Two Third-Place Finishes at Joe Piane Invitational

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alabama cross country’s Doris Lemngole picked up right where she left off, winning her second individual title of her short Crimson Tide career, this time by clocking 16:05.9 to claim the Women’s Blue individual crown at the Joe Piane Invitational. The feat marks the second consecutive victory for Lemngole, in only her second ever collegiate race.

The No. 22 UA women’s cross country team opened the morning with a third-place overall finish, as the No. 27 men’s squad also ended the day with a third-place team finish. The team results mark the third straight top-four finish for the women and the third straight top-three finish for the men during the 2023 season.

The Crimson Tide women tallied 73 points to claim the top-three spot, led by Lemnogle’s first-place finish over the 5,000-meter course. She would be joined by Hilda Olemomoi (eighth) and Joy Gill (11^th) who both opened their 2023 season with a top-12 time of their own.

The UA men claimed their third-place finish via an 114-point performance led by the Alabama trio of Hillary Cheruiyot (second), Victor Kiprop (third) and Eliud Kipsang (25^th). It was the season-opening race for all three runners, as Cheruiyot (23:10.6) and Kiprop (23:12.3) finished within two to four seconds of the winning, individual time.

“Overall, we had a very good day against one of the nation’s strongest fields. Doris won her second title in as many meets for the women and Victor and Hillary both earned top-three finishes for the men. To have this type of meet, against this kind of competition, was huge for us as we move toward postseason. Our women went head-to-head with two of the best teams in the country, and I’m proud of how our lineup raced today. For it being their first race of the season, our top-three guys – Hillary, Victor and Eliud did really well. The rest of our guys did a good job of sticking to the race plan. Collectively, I’m proud of how we represented the Crimson Tide today, gaining some great experience that we will carry with us as we look to close out the regular season at home next month.”