Alabama Cross Country Adds A National Championship

Junior distance runner Mercy Chelangat wins the the 2021 Individual Cross Country National Championship, the first individual national title in Crimson Tide history.

Chelangat won the 6000M race with a time of 20:01.1. She took first place near the 5000M mark of the contest, overtaking BYU's Whittni Orton who fell behind to 17th at the final. BYU would take the team National Championship, however, placing five runners in the top-50.

While Alabama placed two runners in the top-3, Chelangat winning and Amaris Tyynismaa finishing third, the Crimson Tide finished the race 8th as a team.

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Chelangat won the individual SEC crown with a time of 19:46.5, the fourth in UA history and first since 1993 while the Crimson Tide team finished second.