UA Men Defend Regional Title, Lemngole Captures Individual Crown

Last Updated: November 14, 2025By Emerald Coast Chronicle

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The No. 9 Alabama men’s cross country team defended its NCAA South Regional Championship title on Friday, while program ace Doris Lemngole highlighted the women’s competition by shattering the 6k course-record time (18:43.77) en route to a regional victory.

The Crimson Tide men wasted no time in securing their ninth overall regional title as all five scoring runners finished in the top 15 of the 10k race. UA was led by Dismus Lokira (second, 29:11.88) and Dennis Kipruto (fourth | 29:16.44), who captured top-four individual finishes. At the end, Alabama recorded an impressive 37 points for the title, 38 points clear of second-place Ole Miss, for an automatic berth to next week’s NCAA National Championships (Saturday, Nov. 22).

The UA women finished third in the team standings, spearheaded by Lemngole’s first individual South Regional Championship title. Joining Lemngole in the top three were freshmen Caren Kiplagat (second | 18:49.70) and Cynthia Jemutai (third | 19:10.35).

With the UA women finishing outside the top-two automatic cut-off, Alabama will look for an at-large bid when the NCAA Cross Country Selection Show streams live on NCAA.com on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. CT.

UA Men 10k Rundown

Led by the 2-4 finish from Lokira and Kipruto, respectively, the Crimson Tide placed all five of its scoring-runners in the top 15

Nelson Pariken (ninth | 29:37.27), Ezekiel Pitireng (11^th | 29:44.53) and Carson Burian (15^th | 29:58.04) rounded out the Tide’s pack at the top

Alabama ran away from the field, accumulating only 37 points to win its second consecutive regional title as Ole Miss (second | 75 points), Georgia (third | 77 points), Tennessee (fourth | 145 points) and Lipscomb (fifth | 145 points) rounded out the top five of the team standings

UA Women 6k Rundown

Following the Tide trio of Lemngole, Kiplagat and Jemutai were Meriel Rowland (60^th | 20:53.62) and Leah Kleekamp (62^nd | 20:58.11)

Alabama finished third (125 points), as team-winner Florida (52 points), Tennessee (second | 101 points), Mississippi State (fourth | 125 points) and Vanderbilt (fifth | 152 points) rounded out the top five programs in the women’s standings

“I’m very proud of how we showed up today. They stayed composed, trusted their preparation and ran with a purpose. Our men’s defending the regional title and Doris breaking the course record were big highlights from a very rewarding day. We will wait and see if our women’s team officially makes the cut, but overall, it was another really strong day for both of our groups, and now we turn our sights to the national championship meet next weekend.”