Sept. 5, 2008
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Auburn men's cross country team finished in first place and the women tied for second and both teams had the individual champion as the Tigers opened their 2008 seasons at the Powerade Invitational hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The men's team scored 18 points to finish 48 points ahead of instate and conference rival Alabama, while Kennesaw State (91) and UT-Chattanooga (104) finished third and fourth, respectively. The women finished second with 38 points, just four points back from champion UT-Chattanooga.
"For the guys, it was a fun win and we were able to see what sort of competition we will face in the SEC," head cross country coach Peter Watson said. "Our spirits were high and everyone was happy and had a good time. I'm happy with both the men's and women's performance today."
In the men's 5K race, Auburn captured first through fourth place with junior college transfer Elkanah Kibet and true freshman Girma Mecheso packing the blazing one-two-punch in 14:49 and 14:54, respectively. Junior Scott Novack (15:22) and true freshman Julian Matthews (15:31) followed for third and fourth.
"Our top four guys looked really good today," Watson said. "Elkanah and Girma jumped out right away and then Scott and Julian did a fantastic job for us."
Also competing for the men's team were Jeff Sanders, placing eighth with a time of 16:02, Joby Peake, two seconds behind him at 16:04 for an 11th-place finish, and Myles Udland was 17th at 16:26. Mark Flemming, who was a non-scorer for the Tigers, also ran and crossed the line in 16:45.
On the women's side, the Tigers had three top-10 finishers with sophomore Holly Knight and junior Laurel Pritchard placing first and third, respectively. Knight, who was the top finisher at the same event a year ago, cruised to her second title by completing the two-mile course in 10:56 and finished 26 seconds ahead of runner-up Tara Gietema of UT-Chattanooga. Pritchard crossed the line in 11:22 and Sophomore Amber Riley placed sixth for the Tigers.
"Holly took right off, but that should be no surprise because she is one of the top returners in the country," Watson said.
The women's race also included 12th-place finisher Allison Smith (12:23), Madeline Collins placed 16th (12:30). Becca Bell ran unattached and finished the race in 12:27.
"Having an early race [in the season] gets everyone's feet wet and reminds them what it's like to race," Watson explained. "It's a nice tune up and a good way to see where we are physically heading into the Roy Griak Invitational in a couple of weeks."
The squads will return to action when both teams compete at the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota on Sept. 27. The men's 8K race will start at 12:10 p.m. with the women's 6K race to follow at 12:55 p.m.