SOUTH BEND, Ind. | South Alabama runners Kirami Yego and Teagan Flanagan took the top two spots in the men's gold 5-mile race, and Adele Magaud finished seventh in the women's gold 5k race at the Joe Piane Invitational held at Burk Golf Course in South Bend, Ind., Friday afternoon.
 
The men's team placed in the top-10 for the third time this season, finishing eighth. Along with Yego and Flanagan, freshmen runners Amos Pkemoi, Xavier Johnson, Tyler Doty and Jake Thompson raced in their first 5-mile competition of the season.
 
Magaud once again set a new personal best with a time of 17:10.9, surpassing her time of 17:14 at the North Alabama Showcase two weeks ago. Clervie Chagot beat her previous personal best by only one second, while Emma Tonesberg cleared her old personal best by three seconds. These performances helped the women's team to a finish just inside the top-15.
 
Youngstown State placed atop the men's gold 5-mile group with 60 points. UC Riverside and IUPUI placed second and third with 113 and 123 points, respectively. Ed Buck of San Francisco rounded out the top three with a time of 24:01.5. In the women's race, Nebraska's Alea Hardie placed first with a time of 16:44.2. Camila Noe of Montana State finished second at 16:57.4, and Collette Lowengrub from UC Riverside finished third with a time of 17:03.4. The top three teams were separated by only five points. Nebraska had 70, Cal Poly close behind at 71 points and Montana State finished third with 75.

Head Coach Parker Cowles
 "There were a lot of good things at the meet today and some frustrations, too. I was really pleased with how Adele [Magaud] and Kirami [Yego] both ran. Adele got a big personal best in the 5k, and just competing the way she did moving up in the field and running hard, that was fun to see. She's really coming into her own. With Kirami, he controlled the race start to finish like we expected him to. He showed that he really is one of the best runners in the nation and he will continue to compete at a high level. In terms of the team today, we need to continue to strengthen our depth. I was hoping for a little more, however I did see them race tough. We just need to continue to get stronger at the back of the lineup."

Up Next

• The Jaguars will next compete on Friday, Oct. 14, in the Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The men will race at 8:30 a.m., and the women will follow at 9:20 a.m.

Post-Race Notes

• Yego notched his fourth first-place finish of his career and eighth top-five finish.
• This is the second time Yego and Flanagan have finished as the top two runners in the same race. The only other time was in the Azalea City Classic on Sept. 10, 2021.
• Yego and Flanagan led throughout, holding the top two positions at each of the splits throughout the race.
• This was the first 5-mile race for the men this season.
• Magaud moved up two spots in the final 1000m of the race.
• South's runners continue to improve on the season. Three on the women's team set new personal bests, and two runners on the men's team (Yego and Doty) beat their comparable 8k personal bests.
• The men's and women's teams improved on their finishes from the last time they ran a race hosted by Notre Dame (2006). The men moved up from 12^th to eighth, and the women improved from 20^th to 15^th.
• Magaud, Tonesberg and Chagot set new personal bests in the 5k for the second time this season.

 
Men's Team Finishes – 5 Mile
1. Youngstown State (60); 2. UC Riverside (113); 3. IUPUI (123); 4. Texas Tech (142); 5. Nebraska (144); 6. Loyola Marymount (150); 7. Buffalo (181); 8. South Alabama (200); 9. San Francisco (204); 10. Milwaukee (200).
 
Men's Individual Top 10 Finishes
1. Kirami Yego, South Alabama (23:23.2); 2. Teagan Flanagan, South Alabama (23:54.1); 3. Ed Buck, San Francisco (24:01.5); 4. Chase Easterling, Youngstown State (24:17.6); 5. Bailey Timmons, Nebraska (24:35.1); 6. Aiden Davis, UC Riverside (24:35.5); 7. Hunter Christopher, Youngstown State (24:35.8); 8. Trevor Wenzel, Milwaukee (24:35.9); 9. Edward Rush, Texas Tech (24:36.8). 10. Adam Trafecanty, Loyola Marymount (24:37.2)
 
South Alabama Men's Individual Finishes
1. Kirami Yego (23:23.2); 2. Teagan Flanagan (23:54.1); 45. Amos Pkemoi (25:27.5); 77. Xavier Johnson (26:15.0); 79. Tyler Doty (26:20.6); 109. Jake Thompson (29:14.0)
 
Women's Team Finishes – 5k
1. Nebraska (70); 2. Cal Poly (71); 3. Montana State (75); 4. Pittsburgh (153); 5. UC Riverside (170); 6. San Diego State (182); 7. Milwaukee (221); 8. Youngstown State (236); 9. Texas Tech (248); 10. Western Michigan (264).
15. South Alabama (384)
 
Women's Individual Top 10 Finishes
1. Alea Hardie, Nebraska (16:44.2); 2. Camila Noe, Montana State (16:57.4); 3. Collette Lowengrub, UC Riverside (17:03.4); 4. Julia Heckey, Cal Poly (17:06.1); 5. Morgan Cole, Youngstown State (17:07.6); 6. Jessica Kain, San Diego State (17:08.4); 7. Adele Magaud, South Alabama (17:10.9); 8. Kayla Schiera, Western Michigan (17:11.5); 9. Mya Dube, Montana State (17:16.8); 10. Brynna McQuillen, Nebraska (17:18.4)
 
South Alabama Women's Individual Finishes
7. Adele Magaud (17:10.9); 78. Clervie Chagot (18:52.0); 88. Emma Tonesberg (19:00.9); 89. Abbey Weitenbeck (19:01.1); 145. Shay Lee (21:56.6).
 
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