Nov. 15, 2008
Mens 10K Results 
| Womens 6K Results
MARYVILLE, Tenn. - Auburn crowned two individual champions in Felix Kiboiywo and Holly Knight Saturday at the NCAA South Regional in Maryville, Tenn., and punched their ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24. The Tiger men placed second as a team and earned an automatic bid to nationals. The Auburn women finished fifth.
Auburn's men, ranked 12th nationally, tallied 49 points and had all seven runners finish in the top 50 en route to the runner-up finish. No. 5 Alabama won the men's title with 49 points. On the women's side, Auburn had 156 points. No. 3 Florida State captured the women's title and had four runners finish in the top 10.
"Our goal was to make the national meet and we did it and for the first time in many years, Auburn will have a team at nationals," head coach Peter Watson said. "Two individual titles are fantastic. Felix winning for the second year in a row quite nice as well.
"The women's team as a whole ran very well," Watson continued. "Our two through four runners packed up great and ran well. To be fifth in the region was very big for us."
Kiboiywo defended his regional title from a year ago with Saturday's win, crossing the 10K line in a time of 30:45.91. Kiboiywo's win Saturday was the first of his junior campaign.
"I wasn't expecting to do well at all today," Kiboiywo said. "I started way back but coach (Watson) told me just to race my own race, and that's always my goal. I wasn't expecting to run that fast. I started way back and took my time to get to the top place."
Counterparts Elkanah Kibet and Girma Mecheso were right behind Kiboiywo, finishing second and third, respectively. Kibet was just two seconds back from Kibioywo, completing the course in 30:47.08 for runner-up honors. Mecheso, who came off an SEC Championship performance on Nov. 3, followed in 30:50.42.
"The guys up front were very impressive," Watson said. "As I keep saying, our top-three runners are something very special. I know each one of them wanted the individual title, but they knew the importance of the day was getting the team through to nationals and that's what we did."
Beyond the top three, the rest of Auburn's men placed within the top 50. Coming across the line 24th was Scott Novack in a time of 32:20.14 to earn All-Region honors. Jean-Pierre Weerts, running in only his second race of the season, clocked a 32:40.20 for 31st. Freshman Julian Matthews took 38th with a time of 33:08.35 and Joby Peake rounded out the Tiger men, coming in 49th in 33:28.07.
"Scott, Jean-Pierre, Julian and Joby worked as a pack and just moved up through the field," Watson said. "Having Novack earn All-South Region honors in 24th place was a great accomplishment. Jean-Pierre is still playing catch up from his injury, but he was the difference of us being second or third."
Knight blew away her competition in the women's 6K, finishing the race in 20:29.67, 21 seconds ahead of runner-up Sarah Bowman of Tennessee, to qualify for her first NCAA Championships.
"I felt I could have a good race," Knight said. "I went hard and took it out from the start. I just wanted to get an individual position. I felt comfortable and the course worked well for me. Just winning regionals is a great accomplishment. I ran a good time, though, and it definitely gives me a lot of confidence heading into nationals."
The sophomore from Devon, England, has finished among the top four in all five races she has run this fall. Saturday's win also marked the second individual title for Knight this season.
"Holly was brilliant today," Watson said. "She followed the game plan and was able to pick up a nice victory. She ran a controlled effort and was able to get away early and then do what she had to in order to win. She said it felt like a hard tempo out. The win is good for her confidence heading into the NCAA Championships."
Three other Tiger women placed among the top 50. Amber Riley notched a 28th-place finish in 22:02.01, followed by Sabrina Fischer (22:08.91) and Laurel Pritchard (22:11.50) at 31st and 33rd, respectively. Becca Bell was the 64th runner to cross the finish line and did so in 223:04.81 and Allison Smith (23:42.34) rounded out Auburn's efforts with a 91st-place finish.
Auburn's men's team, along with Holly Knight, will have just over a week to prepare for the NCAA Championships that will take place in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24.