Blazing final kilometre from Alabama runner gives her a clear win at the US national collegiate event in Oklahoma

Alabama’s SEC cross-country champion Mercy Chelangat won the women’s 6km race in style in 20:01.1 on the Stillwater course at Oklahoma on Monday (March 15).

She became the first individual national champion for Alabama.

The 23-year-old Kenyan had finished third in the SEC indoor 5000m (15:48.38) and fourth in the 3000m but though she lost out at the finish in both races she was much the strongest finisher here making her move at the 5km mark.

Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe, a 20-year-old who had won the Big 12 mile title last month, was running on her home course and was second in 20:06.7, whereas little-known teenager Amaris Tyynismaa was third (20:10.2).

She had been runner-up in the SEC indoor mile though the only form that might have suggested she could be a contender was a 9:03.46 3000m PB in Columbia on February 6 where she finished less than second down on team-mate Chelangat’s 9:02.54 PB.

Though Alabama placed two in the top three they only finished eighth team overall.

Brigham Young took the team title with five in the top 50 even though the leader at 5km, Whittni Orton from that team, faded to 17th in a painful last kilometre though she was 14th in the team positions as the winning squad placed 9th, 12h, 14th, 27th and 34th to win by 65 points from North Carolina State.

Mahala Norris was fourth in 20:11.8.

The official kilometre splits seem a little unreliable but the opening kilometre was covered in 3:05.2 with a huge pack in contention with Washington’s Haley Herberg the official leader from Chelangat (3:05.4). The first 200 were covered by just eight seconds at this point.

That was the still the case at 2km with the pace slowing to 6:28.9 with still 10 seconds covering the top 130.

Herberg dropped back the 3km was reached in a seemingly very slow 10:06.2 by Orton with the lead pack now reduced to 23.

At 4km It was Orton still ahead (13:21.4) and she led from Tyynismaa (13:22.0), Norris (13:22.4) and Chelangat (13:22.5) with the pack now looking 11-strong.

At 5km Orton (16:43.2) was ahead though Tyynismaa and Chelangat (both 16:43.3), Ella Donaghue (16:43.5), Roe (16:43.6) and Norris (16:43.7) were together with seventh-placer Hannah Steelman 16:45.0 just off the pace.

It looked like being an exciting six-way battle in the last kilometre but Chelangat pulled away easily for her biggest win to date.

Briton Poppy Tank, who finished 19th in the 2019 European Cross Country Championships, finished 27th for Utah in 20:42.9.

Sarah Chapman finished 47th in 21:04.