TERRE HAUTE, Ind. ? South Alabama junior Micah Tirop concluded his 2008 cross country season Monday morning at the NCAA Championships held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

Tirop finished the 10K course with a time of 31:06.4, placing 132nd.

Monday’s weather was similar to racing conditions at the South Regional, with temperatures hovering at 41 degrees and winds gusting up to 26 mph.

“We were not ready for it to be this cold,” assistant coach Tim Goldsack said. “Micah ran with the people he ran with at regionals, but we have to get used to running in weather like this if we want to succeed at this level.”

Tirop finished five seconds behind his championship time during the 2007 season (31:01.8).

“He ran tough but the cold really got to him,” Goldsack said. “Micah said his legs gave up with about a mile to go. Adapting to the weather is something we need to work on. We are still proud with the great season that he has had.”

Individual men's results from the NCAA Championships can be found here.

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