Henderson, Chester County native, Evan Allen recorded a time of 14:46.4 to take home first place in the Lion opener Thursday afternoon at McFarland Park. The time broke a 38-year old program record as the University of North Alabama men’s cross country team came up short against Alabama in the season-opening race for both teams.
Allen, a junior, recorded the fastest 5K time for the UNA men since Barry Fitts’ time of 15:10 at the 1984 West Georgia Invitational.
UNA’s Head Cross Country Coach, Jeremy Provence, expressed his thoughts on Allen’s talent, determination and success.
“It’s a phenomenal performance for him. He’s a guy who’s super motivated. He’s an extremely hard worker and is passionate about cross country and doing whatever it takes to be successful. That carried over in school and life. Just super impressive,” he said. “Super proud of him.”
Provence saw Allen’s potential from the time Allen decided to go to UNA and said that he is not “extremely surprised it happened.”
“I can’t say I saw it coming, but he’s a super talented guy who has tons of potential,” Provence said. “When he decided to come to UNA, we talked about the vision of him and his success here. This is just one of those things, I can’t say we saw it coming, but not extremely surprised that it happened. He’s just that kind of guy I knew was going to put the kind of work into everything and had the talent to get there. It’s easier said than done, but he checked that box and now is the school record holder on the 5K.”
Cross Country Coach Stephanie Hatch of Chester County High School, Allen’s former coach, is proud of him too and loves Allen’s ethic of “running to win.”
“I am over the moon about Evan,” she said. “How awesome! I can remember the first time Evan ran for us; it was amazing. He started something for our sport that we had never seen before, running to win! So it’s only right that he would carry that work ethic and talent with him to college.”
Allen’s family is proud of his success in the sport and can not wait to see what else this season holds.
“Our whole family is proud that Evan met his goal for his 5K time in cross country as well as in track,” his mother Melissa Allen said. “In running, successes are measured with time. He was able to break a 38-year school record with this time. We can’t wait to see his running growth in the 8K throughout the season.”
The 8K record is the next goal Allen is on the hunt for Provence said.
“I know he has big plans for the upcoming races this season, and hopefully we can get the 8K record at some point this season. I think we’re going to prepare and let that kind of be the goal as we move forward. I know he’s going to try to to at least give himself an opportunity to hopefully get the 8K record at some point this season. I know that’s one of his goals he has written down… I think he’s in a really good spot and he looks really good in training. He’s in a good place from a psychological preparation and mindset. He’s very confident right now. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
Alabama was able to edge the Lions by placing spots 2-4 and 6-8 to win the event. Fedrick Kipyego came in fifth with a time of 15:16.6.
“The men had a really good day overall,” said Provence. “One thing that impressed me was the fight they had. We went out hard and faded a little, but they continued to battle for position. We have been training hard recently so no doubt there was fatigue going in, but they handled the adversity well and opened the season with a positive showing.”
Brandon Lee was ninth with a time of 15:33.1, while James Hibbard’s time of 15:43.7 was good enough for 10th place. Connor Jackson (12th/15:55.0) and Jackson Hamlin (13th/15:56.8) rounded out the top finishers for the Lions.
By Joseph Romans
