Aug. 31, 2009
AUBURN - Auburn's men's and women's cross country teams were picked to finish second and fourth, respectively, in the announcement of the 2009 SEC Cross Country Coaches Poll by the league office.
The men received a pair of first place votes, and return seven letterwinners along with All-American and 2008 South Region Champion, senior Felix Kiboiywo. The Tigers earned 23 points for the second place preseason ranking. The ranking comes on the heels of a second place finish at last year's SEC Championship.
On the women's side, Auburn returns 2008 All-American and South Region Champion, junior Holly Knight. As a team, the women ranked fourth with 45 points after finishing fifth at last season's SEC Championship. In all, the women return five letterwinners from a year ago.
"It is an honor to be considered among the SEC's best with the pair of first place votes on the men's side," said first-year Head Coach Mark Carroll. "The women's team shows promise and is certainly coming along nicely with the season approaching. As a team, We know these are only preseason rankings and we have much work to do in order for us to achieve our goals this season."
The University of Alabama took top honors for the men, while the University of Florida was selected to win the women's title. In a vote by the league head coaches, the Crimson Tide captured nine first-place votes for a total of 11 points and the Gators took eight first-place votes for a total of 15 points.
Auburn received two first-place votes and followed in second-place with 23 points, while Arkansas came in third with 26 points. Florida and Tennessee round out the top five on the men's side with 37 and 51 points respectively.
In the women's poll, Florida received eight first-place votes and and tallied 15 total points for the top spot. The defending champion Arkansas Razorbacks received four first-place votes and posted 18 points for second-place.
The Tennessee Lady Vols recorded 38 points for a predicted third-place finish, while Auburn placed fourth with 45 points and Georgia placed fifth with 56 points.
Points for the men's poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 basis while the women's poll was awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 basis.
MEN 1. Alabama (9) 11 2. Auburn (2) 23 3. Arkansas 26 4. Florida 37 5. Tennessee 51 6. Mississippi State 58 7. Kentucky 62 8. Georgia 64 9. LSU 86 10. Ole Miss 89 11. Vanderbilt 98
WOMEN 1. Florida (8) 15 2. Arkansas (4) 18 3. Tennessee 38 4. Auburn 45 5. Georgia 56 6. Kentucky 63 7. Alabama 67 8. Vanderbilt 75 9. Mississippi State 88 10. South Carolina 101 11. Ole Miss 112 12. LSU 117
Portions of this release courtesy of the Southeastern Conference