OXFORD, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's (17 pts) and women's (28 pts) cross country teams won their third-straight meets Saturday morning at the 14th Annual Foothills Invitational hosted by Jacksonville State at the Choccolocco Sports Complex.

The Jag men won the 8k finishing 49 points in front of Oglethorpe as the had the top four runners at the event and all seven athletes finished 11th or better, while the women won the 5k by nearly 40 points over fellow Sun Belt member Georgia State (65 pts).

Onesmus Kemboi (25:17.40) won his second race of the fall and finished 10 seconds in front of Jag teammate Warno Potgieter (25:27.20) – his third second-place finish of the season. Andonet Cheruiyot was the top South runner on the women's side as she finished third with a time of 17:30.46.
 
Date: 10/5
Meet: 14th Annual Foothills Invitational Classic
Host: Jacksonville State
Place: Choccolocco Sports Complex (Oxford, Ala.)

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
WOMEN'S – 5K
1. Lotte Meyberg, Georgia State (17:24.20); 2. Gladys Cheboi, Cahaba Distance (17:28.20); 3. Andonet Cheruiyot, SOUTH ALABAMA (17:30.40); 4. Carolien Millenaar SOUTH ALABAMA (18:05.20); 5. Lemi Wutz, SCAD Savannah (18:06.00); 6. Angela Alonso, Georgia State (18:11.70); 7. Alyse Henry, SOUTH ALABAMA (18:16.30); 8. Macki Walsh, Troy (18:18.60); 9. Adele Magaud, SOUTH ALABAMA (18:30.30); 10. Silje Linstad, SOUTH ALABAMA (18:31.60)

MEN'S – 8K
1. Onesmus Kemboi, SOUTH ALABAMA (25:17.40); 2. Warno Potgieter, SOUTH ALABAMA (25:27.20); 3. Thomas Sand, SOUTH ALABAMA (25:23.00); 4. Nate Pudner, SOUTH ALABAMA (25:57.90); 5. Bradley Dixon, Troy (25:39.10); Rodrigo Meade, Oglethorpe (26:13.90); 7. Caleb Smith, SOUTH ALABAMA (26:28.00); 8. Charlie Slaughter, SOUTH ALABAMA (26:29.10); 9. Jacob Hedgepeth, Emory (26:31.60); 10. Dan Pluckett, Unattached (26:35.60)

TEAM FINISHES
WOMEN'S – 5K
1. SOUTH ALABAMA (28 pts); 2. Georgia State (65 pts); 3. Troy (68 pts); 4. SCAD Savannah (110 pts); 5. Blue Mountain (148 pts); 6. Spring Hill (177 pts); 7. Jacksonville State (231 pts); 8. Wallace State (240 pts); Clayton State (256 pts); 10. Birmingham-Southern (285 pts); 11. Mobile (304 pts); 12. Oglethorpe (358 pts); 13. Tuskegee (372 pts); 14. Clark Atlanta (395 pts); 15. Albany State (403 pts); 16. LaGrange (444 pts); 17. Miss. Univ. for Women (487 pts); 18. Miles (501 pts); 19. Shorter (552 pts); 20. Lane (627 pts); 21. Rust (627 pts)

MEN'S – 8K
1. SOUTH ALABAMA (17 pts); 2. Oglethorpe (68 pts); 3. Emory (73 pts); 4. Troy (105 pts); 5. SCAD Savannah (149 pts); 6. Wallace State (197 pts); 7. Spring Hill (244 pts); 8. Point University (245 pts); 9. Blue Mountain (288 pts); 10. Clayton State (300 pts); 11. Marion Military Institute (330 pts); 12. Albany State (343 pts); 13. Jacksonville State (349 pts); 14. Bryan (375 pts); 15. Birmingham-Southern (435 pts); 16. Shorter (466 pts); 17. LaGrange (483 pts); 18. Clark Atlanta (533 pts); 19. Miss. Univ. for Women (538 pts); 20. Tuskegee (582 pts); 21. Stillman (610 pts); 22. Kennesaw State (618 pts); 23. Lane (702 pts); 24. Miles (741 pts); 25. Rust (752 pts)
 
SOUTH ALABAMA INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
WOMEN'S – 5K
3. Andonet Cheruiyot (17:30.40); 4. Carolien Millenaar (18:05.20); 7. Alyse Henry (18:16.30); 9. Adele Magaud (18:30.30); 10. Silje Linstad (18:31.60); 13. Susanna Pudner (18:48.90); 27. Abbie Wietenbeck (19:42.60); 31. Shay Lee (20:09.10); 53. Elizabeth Holcombe (21:10.10)

MEN'S – 8K
1. Onesmus Kemboi (25:17.40); 2. Warno Potgieter (25:27.20); 3. Thomas Sand (25:23.00); 4. Nate Pudner (25:57.90); 7. Caleb Smith (26:28.00); 8. Charlie Slaughter (26:29.10); 11. Lance Cunigan (26:38.70)

NOTES
- The win was the third in as many races for the Jaguar men this fall and the 17 points was one point shy of matching its season-best (16) set during the opening weekend.
 - Kemboi won his second race of the fall, crossing the line with a time of 25:17.40 in the 211 8k runner field. He has now recorded eight top 10 finishes during his career.
- Potgieter has now finished second in all three of his races this fall and seventh top 10 of his career, while N. Pudner recoded his third top 10 finish this season.
- Smith, Slaughter and Cunigan each posted new personal best in the 8k.
- The South Alabama women also won their third time in as many races this fall and had five of their nine runners finish inside the top 10
- Cheruiyot was the top runner for South crossing the line with a time of 17:30.46 to place third out of the 179 runner field. She has now finished inside the top three in six of her nine races as a Jaguar.
- Cheruiyot has now been the top Jaguar runner for the women in all but one of her nine races in a South uniform.
- With her seventh-place finish, Henry posted her third top 10 finish this fall and Magaud (ninth) set a new personal best for the third-straight week with a time of 18:30.30.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Parker Cowles
- On Saturday's performances at the Foothills Invitational: "We've been training pretty hard and [the women] actually looked a little tired and sluggish out on the course, but I thought we competed well and finished in front of two [Sun Belt] Conference teams which have been in the top half of the league. We competed well, especially in our head-to-head with Georgia State.

"The men executed well in kind of a light race and followed their race plan. They had a good team average and really showed up event though it was kind of a low-key atmosphere. It was good to see us run fast. I feel that we've proven that we're ready to really get after it at UAB in a couple of weeks."

UP NEXT
- South Alabama will next compete at the UAB Blazer Invite hosted by UAB at the Montevallo Course in Montevallo, Ala., on Friday, Oct. 18.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub

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