WINNING THE women’s individual title moved Alabama junior Doris Lemngole into rarefied company as a back-to-back champ.
Before the 23-year-old Kenyan, only 6 women had won individual cross XC titles twice in a row: Sonia O’Sullivan (Villanova) 1990–91, Carole Zajac (Villanova) ’92–93, Shalane Flanagan (North Carolina) ’02-03, Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech) 06-07-08 and Sheila Reid (Villanova) 10–11.
Additionally Betty Jo Springs (NC State) was a non-consecutive 2-time winner in ’81 and ’83.
Between the two harrier crowns, Lemngole dominated on the oval.
First she made the traditional (in recent years) pilgrimage to Boston U 2 weeks after her win on the grass outside Madison last year and won the 5000 in a Collegiate Record 14:52.57.
At the NCAA Indoor in March, Lemngole won the 5000 in 15:03.93 before suffering a rare runner-up performance in the 3000 to West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe, 9:01.18–9:01.64.
The Crimson Tide runner then ran 9:10.13 to break her own Collegiate Record (9:15.24) in the steeplechase at the Wake Forest Invitational before becoming the first sub-9:00 collegian while successfully defending her NCAA title.
Lemngole’s 8:58.15 winning performance in Eugene made her No. 11 on the all-time world list.
After the NCAA outdoor meet, she won her first Diamond League race with a 9:16.36 victory in Lausanne.
Lemngole then capped her impressive ’25 track season with a 5th-place finish in the WC steeple final, which she achieved despite falling over another runner at the final water jump.
With just over 9 weeks between the Tokyo final and the NCAA Cross, the Alabama star had little time to rest and prepare for her title defense.
“After the World Championships I have to be back… it wasn’t easy at all but I just trust my coach’s plan,” said Lemngole.
When asked what defending her cross country title meant to her, she responded, “It kind of motivates me to be ready for the next thing. It keeps me motivated for my family.”
