Angela Homan Wins SEC Championship; Men Place Seventh, Women Sixth
November 3, 2003
ATHENS, Ga. - Auburn's men's and women's cross country teams competed at the SEC Championships on Monday morning at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Sophomore Angela Homan captured the women's individual title in the 6K race. The men's team finished seventh and the women placed sixth.
"I thought Angela had a terrific race," commented head coach Chris Fox. "We came in thinking she could run for second, with hopes that she may be able to come out on top. Everything worked for her today - the course was to her advantage, and things came together as they rarely do in this sport."
Homan completed the race in 21:49.76 to take home Auburn's first women's individual SEC title and help lead the Tigers to a sixth place team finish. With the individual win, Homan earned her third individual title this season. Senior Catherine Wanyoike finished ninth with a time of 22:35.47, earning her a spot on the All-SEC team for the second consecutive year.
"I am very surprised," said Homan. "This course helped me since I am a strength runner. The hillier course was probably to my advantage. My strategy was to go out at a decent pace, then see how I felt. Everything just fell into place, I had no idea that this would be the outcome. Last year, I finished 19th, so
to jump to first is something I really hadn't expected."
Sarah Reese (31st, 23:36.57), Dawn Morgan (34th, 23:39.53) and Caitlin Reese (36th, 23:44.12) were all top-50 finishers for Auburn. Kylee Swanson (53rd, 24:25.28) and Danielle Keplinger (69th, 25:37.11) also competed for the Tigers.
For the first time in five years the Arkansas women did not take home the team title. Tennessee captured the team crown with 57 points, followed by Georgia (95 points) and Arkansas (106 points). Auburn's 111 points were good enough for sixth place and to finish ahead of Mississippi State, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, LSU and Ole Miss.
On the men's side, sophomore Andrew Heath paced the Tigers with a 19th place performance in a time of 26:04.14 in the 8K. David Riddle (33rd, 26:37.78), Patrick Mouser (35th, 26:42.24) and Matt Tillman (39th,
26:58.62) placed in the top-50 for Auburn. Chris George (t-52nd, 27:27.80), Bill Bellomy (53rd, 27:28.81) and Joe O'Brien (61st,
27:59.17) also finished in the championships for Auburn.
For the 13th consecutive time, the Arkansas men ran to a first place finish as a team. Georgia (58 points) and Florida (95 points) rounded out the top-three. Auburn earned 178 points for seventh place, ahead of Mississippi State, LSU, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Kentucky's Thomas Morgan was the individual winner on the men's side (24:59.25).
Highlights from the championship will be broadcasted on the Nov. 6 SEC-TV Weekly Show. SEC-TV can be seen each Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on Fox Sports Net South, Fox Sports Net Southwest and Sunshine Network.
Auburn's men and women will compete in the NCAA South Regional on November 15. The Tigers host the event on Saturday the 15th, with the men's race beginning at 9 a.m. (CT) and the women at 10 a.m. (CT).
Regionals will be held on the Indian Pines Golf Course in Auburn.
For a complete list of individual and team results please visit www.Georgiadogs.com or www.SECsports.com.