TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTVB) – After a successful cross country season with the University of Wisconsin, Coldwater High School graduate and freshman Shuaib Aljabaly took his talents to the national stage and shined again at the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Championships Saturday morning, where he won the junior national title.
“I’m just super excited that all of my training has paid off and that I get to race again in late March at Worlds,” Aljabaly said. “It’s satisfying knowing that I got to win instead of just qualifying.”
“At the start of every year, I talk to our freshmen about the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Championships,” said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mick Byrne. “Most of them, including Shuaib, have no clue about this meet. After NCAAXC, I told Shuaib that we would focus on the meet and try to make the Team USA for Worlds. That resonated with him.”
Aljabaly stayed towards the front of the pack for a majority of the race and remained in the top five heading into the final stretch of the race. Aljabaly took the lead with over a kilometer to go and won the national championship with a four-second gap on second-place Gabriel Mudel of Michigan, completing the 8K race in 24 minutes, 38.7 seconds.
With his victory, he will be representing Team USA in Denmark for the U-20 World Juniors Championships in March 2019.
(courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Sports Information Department)
