Oct. 26, 2012
Men's Results | Women's Results
NASHVILLE - Auburn men's cross country finished eighth, while the women's team placed 14th at the 2012 SEC Cross Country Championships hosted by Vanderbilt University at Percy Warner Park on Friday.
"The results were obviously not what we expected," Auburn cross country coach Mark Carroll said. "We had to deal with a couple of injuries that really affected the team's performance. The plan is to regroup and move forward from here. Niklas had a very good run with a PR and Sam and Griffin also had really good runs. Overall, as a team, we are very disappointed though.
"For the women, I thought Alissa ran well today and she continues to get stronger and stronger. Also, Sage and Kristin had good PRs. Again, injuries played a part today."
Niklas Buhner (24:41.66, new PR) was the top finisher on the men's side for Auburn in the 8k race, crossing the finish line in 26th place. Samuel Mueller (25:02.69) finished 37th and Griffin Jaworski (25:11.30, new PR) was 40th.
Francis Hernandez was 65th and Kane Grimster was 69th to round out Auburn's scorers. The Tigers totaled 237 points to place eighth overall. Arkansas (35 points) won the team championship.
Alissa Fisher (21:32.78) finished 31st overall as the top female runner for Auburn on Friday in the 6k run. Junior Erin Fondren (70th, 22:14.05) along with freshmen Sage Blackwell (89th, 22:54.15) and Kristin Sheehan (92nd, 23:20.65) all recorded new personal best times.
Danielle Lusk closed Auburn's scorers in 96th place. Florida won the team title with 61 points, while Auburn finished 14th.
Auburn is in action next at the NCAA South Regional hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla. on November 9. For the latest on Auburn cross country, follow @AUTrack on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AUtrackandfield.