Alabama Cross Country's Mercy Chelangat Earns National Athlete of the Week Honors

Alabama junior cross country runner Mercy Chelangat earned the honor of National Athlete of the Week, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced on Tuesday morning.

Chelangat, a native of Kericho, Kenya, is the first female athlete hailing from the University of Alabama that has been given the honor during the cross country season. Chelangat earned the award after winning the Southeastern Conference women's cross country individual title this past Friday in Baton Rouge, La.

The ☝️st female athlete from @AlabamaTrack that has been named @USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season!#RollTide pic.twitter.com/ln9oM4hWfJ
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) November 3, 2020

Finishing first with a time of 19:46.5 in the women's 6k race — 11.5 seconds faster than the second-place finisher — Chelangat paced the Crimson Tide to finish second overall behind the Arkansas Razorbacks in the smallest margin of victory since 2012 and Alabama's best finish since 1994.

A two-time All-SEC recipient, Chelangat is just the fourth individual winner in Alabama cross country history and the first since 1993.

Roll Tide Roll! Congratulations Mercy and @AlabamaTrack!!

SEC Cross Country Champion! 🥇🎉

Tune in on the @SECNetwork!
💻 https://t.co/PC4NGPycfx pic.twitter.com/RHVgAyo9F5
— Alabama Athletics (@UA_Athletics) October 30, 2020

In addition to her individual SEC title, Chelangat also has two other top-three finishes this season. Back in September, Chelangat finished third in the 6k race at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic with a time of 21:14.4. She also took home first place in the women's 5k race in October at the Florida State Invitational with a time of 16.50.3.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-2021 cross country schedule was abbreviated to reduce the potential of spreading the virus. This fall, the Crimson Tide only participated in the Commodore Classic, FSU Invitational and SEC championships. The season is slated to resume in 2021, but as of right now no formal dates or tournaments have been announced.

Later in the day on Tuesday, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced that Alabama women's cross country is ranked No. 17 in the nation following its runner-up finish at the SEC championships. The ranking is the second highest ranking in Crimson Tide program history.