The Alabama men's cross country team received a huge boost to its 2017 roster after announcing the signings of two distance superstars from the NCAA DII and NJCAA levels on Thursday.

Missouri Southern's Vincent Kiprop and Central Arizona's Gilbert Kigen will join the Crimson Tide this fall following impressive sophomore seasons at their respective schools. Kiprop is a five-time NCAA DII champion, while Kigen racked up 11 NJCAA titles over a two-year span.

Kiprop and Kigen are the latest additions to an Alabama men's team that already inked Shorter transfer Alfred Chelanga this past winter. Chelenga went on to contribute immediately for the Tide in the 2017 season by finishing fifth at the NCAA indoor championship 5K and qualifying for the NCAA outdoor 10K championship. Before transferring, Chelanga competed at the DII cross country championship in the fall against Kiprop, who won his fifth DII title with an impressive 30-second victory over his future teammate.

These three athletes will form one of, if not, the best 1-2-3 punches next cross country season.

Alabama's projected top five this fall:

Athlete	YR	Track PBs	2016 XC Credentials
Vincent Kiprop	JR	13:42/28:19	2016 DII NCAA XC Champion
Alfred Chelanga	JR	13:48/28:04	2016 DII NCAA XC Runner-Up
Gilbert Kigen	JR	13:53	2016 DI NJCAA XC Champion
Josh Short	JR	9:04 (3K SC)	2016 DI NCAA South Regional (42nd)
Garrett Bull	SR	14:50	2016 DI NCAA South Regional (73rd)

Watch Kiprop's 28:19 from the 2017 Mt. SAC Relays:



Watch Chelanga's 28:04 from the 2017 Stanford Invitational:



Watch Kigen's 11th NJCAA title: