TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Starlynn Costa turned in another standout performance for the South Alabama cross country team Friday morning at the Crimson Classic. Costa set a new personal record with a time of 21:19.01 and entered the Jaguar record books in the 6k.  

Costa ran another calculated race to take 59th place out of 217 female runners, tying her for tenth all-time in the South Alabama history books in the race. For the second week in a row, Amos Pkemboi led the pack for the men's team. He took 85th place and clocked a time of 25:25.6.

The Jags women's team finished in 17th place out of a 24-team field with 438 points, while the men also secured 17th place with 485 points. 

Alabama came away with a decisive victory in both the men's and women's competitions. Victor Kiprop dominated the men's competition, crossing the line first, while the four other male Crimson Tide runners would finish inside the top 20. On the women's side, Hilda Olemomoi and Doris Lemngole took the top two spots in the competition for the Tide. 

Head Coach Parker Cowles 

On both of his team's performances 

" I thought the meet went well today. This is an extremely competitive meet with powerhouse programs from all across the country competing. I was happy with our pack time for both the men and women. I want to continue to see us improve, but it was a good result today. I was happy with Clervie [Chagot] for stepping up in a big way for the women and having one of the best races of her career. Lance [Cunigan] on the men's side came around and had a great race for himself. It was good to see some of our upperclassmen be strong leaders and set the tone for the team. 

On looking forward to Sun Belt Conference Championships

"As we get ready for conference and scores get tight, it's often the team with the strongest pack time- one through five that comes out on top. We still have some things we have to figure out, especially up front, but I thought I thought it was a good result, and we are moving in the right direction." 

Up Next

South Alabama will gear up for the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, October 28 at the Graham Creek Nature Reserve in Foley, Ala. 

South Alabama Men's Individual Finishes 

 85. Amos Pkemoi (25:25.6); 88. Xavier Johnson (25:29.3); 95. Lance Cunigan (25:37.9); 148. Tyler Doty (26:33.8); 164. Grant Casey (26:54.8); 201. Blayton Bernard (28:18.7)

Men's Team Top 10 Finishes – 8k 

1. Alabama (36); 2. Belmont (115); 3. Georgia (125); 4. Middle Tennessee State (128); 5. Southern Utah (152); 6. Kentucky (152); 7. Auburn (155); 8. Clemson (197); 9. Florida State (256); 10. New Orleans (314)

17. South Alabama (438) 

Men's Individual Top 10 Finishes 

1. Victor Kiprop, Alabama (23:13.9); 2. Hillary Cheruiyot, Alabama (23:23.5); 3. Ryan Kinnane, Auburn (23:44.1); 4. Vincent Yegon, Middle Tennessee State (23:46.7); 5. Brian Kiptoo, Middle Tennessee State (23:47.8); 6. Eliud Kipsang, Alabama (23:50.2); 7. Habtamu Geta, Middle Tennessee State (23:54.6); 8. Jake Allen, Kentucky (23:55.0); 9. Victor Ndiwa, Clemson (23:55.1); 10. Sawyer Dagan, Clemson (23:56.1)
      85. Amos Pkemboi, South Alabama (25:25.6)

South Alabama Women's Individual Finishes

59. Starlynn Costa (21:19.1); 95. Clervie Chagot (21:53.6); 102. Charleen Elizondo; 128. Teanna Cason (22:26.5); 134. Macy Livingston (22:29.4); 144. Abbey Weitenbeck (22:36.7); 151. Maria Gelvez (22:47.1); 181. Kate Miller (23:27.5); 195. Tyndal Ann Griffith (23:45.4); 215. Katie Giles (26:01.8)

Women's Individual Top 10 Finishes

1. Hilda Olemomoi, Alabama (18:56.9); 2. Doris Lemngole, Alabama (18:57.1); 3. Gladys Chepngetich, Clemson (19:18.8); 4. Daphne Lavassas, Miami (19:23.5); 5. Joy Gill, Alabama (19:33.0); 6. Purity Sanga, Middle Tennessee State (19:35.3); 7. Elka Machan, Alabama(20:15.6); 8. Isabella Ross, Southern Miss (20:19.2), 9. Faith Nyathi, Middle Tennessee State (20:29.2); 10. Brooke Garther, Belmont (20:30.2)
   59. Starlynn Costa, South Alabama (21:19.1)

 Women's Team Top 10 Finishes – 6k 

1. Alabama (49); 2. Auburn (131); 3. Belmont (161); 4. Middle Tennessee State (175); 5. Clemson (185); 6. Kentucky (186); 7. Mississippi State (215); 8. Samford (221); 9. Tennessee (225); 10. Eastern Kentucky (238)

17. South Alabama (485)

Post-Meet Notes

• Friday marked the first time Tyndal Ann Griffith, Katie Giles, Charleen Elizondo, and Maria Gelvez competed in the 6k. 

• Starlynn Costa bested her previous personal best in the 6k by nearly four seconds. 

• Xavier Johnson and Lance Cunigan both earned Top 100 finishes for the men. Johnson crossed the line seconds behind Pkemboi in 88th, and Cunigan found his way into 95th place just nine seconds shy of his personal best. 

• Clervie Chagot cracked the Top 100, securing 95th place with a 21:53.6. 

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