Nov. 13, 2008
AUBURN - Auburn's Girma Mecheso was named 2008 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Male Freshman of the Year and was named to the Men's All-Freshman team the league office announced Wednesday. Four other Tigers garnered conference honors.
"Having three guys on the first team is something I am very proud of," head coach Peter Watson said. "Felix Kibioywo, Elkanah Kibet and Girma are three very special runners. They are very talented, but most importantly they are eager to listen and learn to put in the work to be great. All these runners are not afraid to work hard and make sacrifices and now they are seeing the payback and I'm proud of all of them."
Mecheso claimed the SEC 8K individual title with a time of 23:11.26 on Nov. 3. It marked the first individual win for Auburn since Brian Abshire in 1985 and the 11th overall for the Tigers' program. The rookie from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is only the second male athlete to win this honor for Auburn, the first since 2004. He is also the first freshman to win the individual SEC title since 2006.
Kibet and Felix Kibioywo each landed a spot on the Men's First Team, after placing third and fourth, respectively, at the league championship. Kibet clocked a career-best time of 23:20.35 to capture third place. Kibioywo finished fourth in 23:26.98, also a career best. Kibioywo, who placed sixth at the SEC Championship a year ago, earned his second All-SEC honor in as many tries.
Julian Matthews also joined Mecheso on the Men's All-Freshman team. Matthews was the 33rd runner across the line at the SEC Championship with a time of 25:08.92. He was the fifth-highest placing freshman in the race.
Sophomore Holly Knight was the only women's runner from Auburn to earn All-SEC accolades. Knight ran to a runner-up finish in 20:18.52 and earned her second All-SEC nod. The Devon, England, native, has finished among the top four in all of her sophomore season races.
The Tigers will travel to Maryville, Tenn., to compete in the NCAA South Regional on Saturday. The women's 6K is a 9 a.m. start, followed by the men's 10K at 10 a.m. CT.