MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's cross country team recorded a dominant performance as the Jaguars cruised to the team title at the Azalea City Classic on Friday at the Old Brookley Golf Course. The Jaguar men had eight individuals finish inside the top 10 including the top six finishers.

South Alabama had the top finisher for both the men and women. In his first race as a Jaguar, Kirami Yego won the men's race with a time of 15:23.6, which was 16 seconds faster than the next closest runner. On the women's side, Carolien Millenaar paced the course, crossing the line with a time of 17:49.5, marking the second consecutive year that the senior has captured the meet title. Like Yego, Millenaar dominated the field as she finished nearly 30 seconds faster than Troy's Macki Walsh.

Troy placed five runners inside the top 11 spots to take home the team title on the women's side, besting South 31-43.

Date: 9/11
Meet: Azalea City Classic
Host: University of South Alabama
Place: Old Brookley Golf Course (Mobile, Ala.)

TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
WOMEN'S – 5K
1. Carolien Millenaar, SOUTH ALABAMA (17:49.5); 2. Macki Walsh, Troy (18:18.0); 3. Cadi Rowe, Troy (18:34.6); 4. Adele Magaud, SOUTH ALABAMA (18:51.6); 5. Grace Booher, Troy (18:56.0); 6. Lauren Robinson, UAB (19:04.5); 7. Silje Lindstad, SOUTH ALABAMA (19:11.0); 8. Isabelle Valenzuela, UAB (19:19.3); 9. Britney Johnson, UAB (19:28.4); 10. Kara Moore, Troy (19:36.2)

MEN'S – 5K
1. Kirami Yego, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:23.6); 2. Onesmus Kemboi, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:39.8); 3. Thomas Sand, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:42.1); 4. Nate Pudner, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:43.4); 5. Warno Potgieter, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:49.9); 6. Charlie Slaughter, SOUTH ALABAMA (15:52.5); 7. Damien O'Boyle, Louisiana (16:11.4); 8. Caleb Smith, SOUTH ALABAMA (16:14.8); 9. Jared Peaslee, SOUTH ALABAMA (16:26.1); 10. Key Alfred, Louisiana (16:30.3)

TEAM FINISHES
WOMEN'S – 5K
1. Troy (31); 2. SOUTH ALABAMA (43); 3. UAB (52); 4. Louisiana (119); 5. Wallace State CC (148); 6. Mobile (170); 7. Marion Military Institute (183)

MEN'S – 5K
1. SOUTH ALABAMA (15); 2. Louisiana (75); 3. Wallace State CC (79); 4. Troy (91); 5. Marion Military Institute (128); 6. Mobile (169)

SOUTH ALABAMA INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
WOMEN'S – 5K
1. Carolien Millenaar (17:49.5); 4. Adele Magaud (18:51.6); 7. Silje Lindstad (19:11.0); 14. Andonet Cheruiyot (20:02.2); 18. Abbey Weitenbeck (22:21.3); 33. Shay Lee (21:46.8); 38. Meredith Bass (22:34.3)

MEN'S – 5K
1. Kirami Yego (15:23.6); 2. Onesmus Kemboi (15:39.8); 3. Thomas Sand (15:42.1); 4. Nate Pudner (15:43.4); 5. Warno Potgieter (15:49.9); 6. Charlie Slaughter (15:52.5); 8. Caleb Smith (16:14.8); 9. Jared Peaslee (16:26.1); 12. Adam Keller (16:40.8); 19. Lance Cunnigan (17:04.8); 34. Colton Collier (18:00.7); 42. Gram Denning (18:33.2)

NOTES
- The meet marked the season opener for South Alabama. USA will host the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Championship on the same course later this fall on Oct. 31.
- The Jaguar men took home eight of the top nine spots, including each of the first six.
- The win for Yego was the first of the freshman's career in his cross country debut. Along with Yego, freshmen Jared Peaslee, Adam Keller and Colton Collier also competed in their first collegiate meets.
- Last season, Kemboi took home the individual title with a time of 15:41, but on Friday, South's top five runners averaged 15:40.
- The second-place finish by Kemboi marked the 11th Top 10 finish of his career.
- The win marked the third of Millenaar's career, which now includes two titles on the Azalea City Classic course.
- With Millenaar's win, the Jaguars have now taken home top individual honors on the women's side at the meet for each of the last six season's dating back to the 2015 (JoAnna McCoy).

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Parker Cowles
- On Carolien Millenaar's performance: "Carolien [Millenaar] wasn't necessarily trying to get a big lead, but she had a target pace and time. I like that she was very deliberate and methodically attacked sub-18. She stayed even and didn't let anything distract her from running her race. I was happy that she was able to come through the 3k on pace and got faster for the last two. That was what we wanted to work on today; trusting yourself late in a race with an aggressive pace and she did just that so I was thrilled with the performance from Carolien."
- On the men's team performance: "Collin [Kirami Yego] is a huge addition to our team and he looked great throughout his race today. The men's performance was phenomenal. Last year, [Onesmus] Kemboi opened up in 15:41 and today our top five averaged 15:40 which is great. Yego and Kemboi lead the program, but I've seen a tremendous transformation from some of our role players like Caleb Smith, Nate Pudner and Charlie Slaughter over the last year. Our depth is tremendous and I thought everyone looked really good."

Senior Carolien Millenaar
- On her game plan: "I had an assigned pace from Coach Cowles and I wanted to stick to that. I did start a little too fast, but after all the time off, I was ready to go out and compete."
- On what to work on after her first meet: "We will definitely be working in some speed work from this point forward. We have done a lot of mileage up to this point, so we will cut that down some while adding some speed and it will be good to feel fresh going into FSU."

Freshman Kirami Yego
- On what was working well for him: "For me this was a good race. Through the first mile, I ran 4:55 and my body was feeling good so I knew that this was going to be my race."
- On the team's preparation for their first meet: "Over the summer we did long runs, over 50 miles per week. Then this week we cut that down and added some speed work, which allowed us to go out and have a good run today."

UP NEXT
- South Alabama will next compete at the FSU Invitational on Fri., Oct. 2, held at Appalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

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

—USA—