NCAA South Regional Women's 6k Results.pdf
NCAA South Regional Men's 10k Results.pdf

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's and women's cross country teams concluded their 2017 season Friday morning with a pair of Top 20 finishes at the NCAA South Regional hosted by Alabama at the Harry Pritchett Running Park.

For the fifth time this season and the 10-consecutive race, junior Laura Labuschaigne paced the South women placing 58th with a time of 21:21.5 to help the Jag women finish 19th out of the 31-team field with 503 points in the 6k.  Freshmen runners Migael Strydom (32:53.6) and Warno Potgieter (32:56.8) finished 75th and 77th, respectively to lead the South Alabama men to an 18th-place finish with 475 points in the 10k race.

On the women's side, Ole Miss (59 points) and Georgia (73 points) finished one-two at the event to earn the automatic berth in next weekend's championships held at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky., while Middle Tennessee (71 points) and the Rebels (76 points) were the top two teams in the men's 10k and advance.

Date: 11/10
Meet: NCAA South Regional
Host Institution: Alabama
Place: Harry Pritchett Running Park (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
WOMEN – 6K
1. Samantha Drop, Georgia (19:40.9); 2. Karisa Nelson, Samford (19:43.4); 3. Jessica Drop, Georgia (19:45.4); 4. Brenda Kigen, Auburn (19:46.2); 5. Eden Meyer, North Florida (19:54.4); 6. Anna Long, Samford (20:02.4); 7. Shelby Brown, Ole Miss (20:15.4); 8. Purity Sanga, Tennessee Tech (20:16.4); 9. Haley Ward, Samford (20:19.6); 10. Jodie Judd, Florida State (20:20.1)
58. Laura Labuschaigne, South Alabama (21:21.5)

MEN – 10K
1. Gilbert Kigen, Alabama (29:44.5); 2. Alfred Chelanga, Alabama (29:47.1); 3. Jacob Choge, Middle Tennessee (29:50.9); 4. Vincent Kiprop, Alabama (30:04.9); 5. Kigen Chemadi, Middle Tennessee (30:14.0); 6. Sean Tobin, Ole Miss (30:15.7); 7. Nahom Solomon, Georgia Tech (30:18.4); 8. Edwin Kurgat, UT-Martin (30:28.0); 9. Arsene Guillorel, Samford (30:52.4); 10. Sampson Laari, Middle Tennessee (30:57.6)
75. Migael Strydom, South Alabama (32:53.6)

TEAM FINISHES
WOMEN – 6K
1. Ole Miss (59); 2. Georgia (73); 3. Samford (94); 4. Florida State (129); 5. Georgia Tech (186); 6. Auburn (199); T7. Mississippi State (232); T7. Vanderbilt (232); 9. Alabama (243); 10. Tennessee (299); 11. Jacksonville (356); 12. Southern Mississippi (365); 13. North Florida (369); 14. Belmont (375); 15. UAB (384); 16. Lipscomb (417); 17. UT-Martin (442); 18. East Tennessee State (466); 19. SOUTH ALABAMA (503); 20. Chattanooga (605); 21. Georgia State (610); 22. Florida (644); 23. Miami (654); 24. Florida International (678); 25. Georgia Southern (702); 26. Florida Atlantic (752); 27. Central Florida (769); 28. Mercer (773); 29. South Florida (778); 30. Alabama State (786); 31. Mississippi Valley State (890)

MEN – 10K
1. Middle Tennessee (71); 2. Ole Miss (76); 3. Alabama (95); 4. Florida State (128); 5. Tennessee (165); 6. Lipscomb (189); 7. Auburn (199); 8. North Florida (239); 9. Georgia (242); 10. Samford (253); 11. Belmont (262); 12. Georgia Tech (308); 13. UT-Martin (319); 14. East Tennessee State (332); 15. Florida (395); 16. Miami (426); 17. Mississippi State (432); 18. SOUTH ALABAMA (475); 19. Vanderbilt (495); 20. Chattanooga (522); 21. Troy (525); 22. Austin Peay (572); 23. South Florida (598); 24. Florida Atlantic (718)

SOUTH ALABAMA INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
WOMEN – 6K
58. Laura Labuschaigne (21:21.5); 84. Carolien Millenaar (21:44.3); 112. Nicole Van Der Merwe (22:08.5); 138. Kailee Kiminski (22:34.6); 154. Gillianne Sharp (22:48.2); 183. Susanna Pudner (23:18.7)

MEN – 10K
75. Migael Strydom (32:53.6); 77. Warno Potgieter (32:56.8); 99. Luke Fielding (33:26.3); 127. Ben Rolader (34:16.1); 129. John Paul Rumore (34:19.0); 135. Phillip Friedlander (34:37.7)

NOTES
- The women's 6k field featured a field of 31 teams and 228 runners, while the men's 10k race had a 24-team field and 164 runners.
- Laura Labuschaigne was the first Jaguar to cross the line for the women for the fifth time in as many meets this season.  It was also the 10th straight race she has done so dating back to last season.
- Carolien Millenaar recorded a top 100 finish crossing the line in 21:44.3 for 84th place.  The time was 36 seconds faster than Millenaar's previous 6k best set earlier this fall on the same course at the Crimson Classic (10/13).
- Fellow freshman Nicole Van Der Merwe also set a new personal best in the 6k with a time of 22:08.5.  Her tie was 16 seconds better than her previous mark.
- The 6k event was the first of the season and first of freshman runner Susanna Pudner's collegiate career.
- Freshmen runners Migael Strydom (32:53.6 – 75th) and Warno Potgieter (32:56.8 – 77th), and sophomore Luke Fielding (33:26.3 – 99th) each recorded top 100 finishes at the NCAA event in their first 10k event.
- The meet marked the second time this fall and the first since the season opening meet (Azalea City Classic) that Strydom has paced the Jaguar men.
- This was the first 10k event of the season for the Jaguar men.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Parker Cowles
- On the two teams' performances at the regional: "I had pretty high hopes and expectations going into the meet today, and we did a lot of things well.  With the men 10,000 meters is a long way to race. We are young aerobically in terms of our fitness overall and we're going to try to develop that down the road and continue to improve.  They raced pretty hard today though and I was real happy with the results, especially when you look at the fact that we were able to finish better than teams like Troy, who had finished in front of us on this course?? Earlier in the season.  We were able to beat them by 50 points which was good.  We have to get more fit though so we can compete over that six-mile race a little more effectively.

"The ladies ran the same exact course a month ago and I think on average we were about 20 seconds faster today for each individual which was exciting, but I feel there was more in there.  I think they got a little disengaged in the middle of the race and we could've been more aggressive at that point, but the group as a whole did a lot of things well and competed well over the last mile of the race."
- On what the young members of both rosters can take from this type of regional race: "I talked with the men about this right after their race.  In cross country if you are going to have more success as these races get longer later in the year, it comes down to your training long term; the amount of mileage and volume and running more they do, especially throughout the summer period getting ready for the season, makes a big difference in terms of your fitness at the end.  It's a long-term adjustment in how you go about your business and the amount of time you spend running.  That's what we'll be looking to improve on this winter as we get ready for indoors, as well as next summer as we get ready for next cross country season.  We will run more, be more disciplined and increase the volume in our training."

UP NEXT
-The 2017 season has concluded for both teams.

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