Tiger Men Capture Team Title; Women Place Third at Home Invitational
Results
October 10, 2003
AUBURN - In rain drenched conditions on Friday afternoon, the Tigers men's cross country team captured the team title at the Auburn Invitational. The women's team placed third in the 32-team field. The Tigers' 8K men's invitational and women's 5K was held on the Indian Pines Golf Course.
"I think it is the best race our men have run the last five or six years, commented Fox. "We are very happy with this win and I think they looked very good out there today. We haven't been able to beat Tennessee since I have been here or in the last 20 years and we accomplished that this afternoon."
Auburn's 127 points were good enough to clinch the team title in the 29-team field. Georgia Tech came in second (141) followed by Tennessee in third (156). Other Southeastern Conference competitors were Mississippi State (10th), LSU (12th) and Vanderbilt (16th).
Georgia Tech's Kyle Rabbitt took home the individual title with a time of 24:47.87 in the 8K, followed by Coastal Carolina's Terah Kipchiris (24:52.96) and Kyle Orendor (24:55.23) from Purdue. Auburn's top finisher was sophomore Andrew Heath, who has led the Tigers' in all three of their meets this season. Heath finished the race fifth with a time of 25:21.26.
Freshman Scott Fuqua (11th, 25:35.00), sophomore David Riddle (23rd, 25:53.34), sophomore Chris George 31st, 26:08.84) and junior Matt Tillman (57th, 26:38.78) rounded out the top-five finishers for the Tigers in the 259-man race.
On the women's side Auburn placed two runners in the top 10. Sophomore standout Angela Homan continued to pace the Tigers, with a third place finish in a time of 17:49.60. Senior Catherine Wanyoike crossed the finish line in fifth place with her time of 18:11.93.
Sophomore Dawn Morgan (20th,18:49.19), Sarah Reese (33rd, 19:01.59) and Kylee Swanson (55th, 19:34.81) rounded out the top-five for Auburn. "Angela ran another great race," said Fox. "There were a lot of solid girls in front of her. Catherine ran her best race of the season. Dawn ran her best race in the two years since she has been here. Overall, I am pleased with their performance today."
Mississippi State earned both the team and individual finals on the women's side. Tiffany McWilliams ran the race in 17:29.93 to pace the 272 person field. Coastal Carolina's Anne Moutsinga came in second. Mississippi State's 107 points were enough for the team title, followed closely by Indiana (111) and Auburn (116).
NEXT UP: The Tigers travel to Starkville, Miss., on Oct. 25 for the MSU Invitational before heading into the SEC Championships on Nov. 3.
For complete results from the Auburn Invitational, please visit:
www.cfpitiming.com