Sept. 22, 2007
ATHENS,Ga. - The Auburn men's cross country team won its second team title in as many meets and the women finished third Saturday morning at the Bulldog Stampede Invitational hosted by the University of Georgia.
The Auburn men's team finished with 45 points to outdistance host Georgia, which finished second with 55 points. The Tiger women competed without their top finisher from their opening meet, Hollie Knight, yet still finished third with 75 points, trailing only Georgia (20) and Tennessee (64).
In the men's 8k race, sophomore Felix Kiboiywo was the top collegiate finisher and placed second overall with a time of 24:45.93. Kiboiywo finished nearly 22 seconds ahead of the second-best collegiate runner, as Georgia's Ryley Miller was second in 24:07.45.
Senior Patrick Philbin was the next Tiger to cross the finish line, earning eighth place with a time of 25:56.64. Sophomore Simon Nyang was right behind Philbin, placing ninth in 26:00.08.
Rounding out the point scorers for Auburn were sophomore Scott Novack, who finished 13th in 26:21.73, and junior Chase Oliver, who placed 15th in 26:32.15.
Freshman Joby Peake placed 18th among collegians with a time of 26:38.94, while freshman James Grantham placed 30th in 27:42.67. Other Auburn runners in attendance were freshman Bryan Wilson, who finished 47th overall in 28:06.89, and sophomore David Wall, who was 51st overall in 28:48.78.
"I'm very happy with how we competed," said head coach Peter Watson. "Felix ran the second-fastest time ever on the course, and Pat and Simon were great No. 2 and 3 runners for us. Beating Georgia on their course is a good sign for things to come."
In the women's 5k race, sophomores Laurel Pritchard and Sabrina Fischer finished seventh and eighth, respectively, among collegians, with Pritchard clocking a time of 18:19.08 and Fischer finishing in 18:27.90. Freshman Amber Riley was not far behind, placing 12th in 18:35.69.
Freshman Allison Smith earned 23rd place with a time of 19:53.74, while freshman Cathryn Albright completed the scoring with a 25th-place finish in 19:58.29. Also competing for Auburn was sophomore Katelyn Simpson, who finished in 31st place in 20:48.90.
"I'm pleased with how our women ran," said Watson. "Amber ran aggressively at the front early, and in another couple of weeks she will stay there. Laurel and Sabrina ran strong while leading the way today. Put Hollie where we think she would be and we have a terrific four. Allison and Cathryn also continue to rapidly improve."
Auburn will host the Tiger Invitational Sept. 29 at Indian Pines Golf Course. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., with the men to follow at 10:15 a.m.