Sept. 14, 2013
Gainesville, Fla.--The Auburn women's cross country team tied for first place and the men finished second at the Mountain Dew Invite Saturday. Freshman Veronica Eder led the women with a fourth place finish, while junior Ty McCormack led the men with a third place finish.
"I'm very excited about the positive showing by both our teams and the way they competed against a lot of SEC competition this early in the season," Auburn cross country coach Mark Carroll said. "For the women to tie for the win and the men to finish second, I feel like we are in a good place right now. "
With five personal bests by the Tiger women, Eder led the Tigers finishing the 6k run in 21:30.96, for fourth place. Fellow freshman Rachel Givens (21:56.05) finished 13th, while sophomores Kristin Sheehan (22:07.23) and Sage Blackwell (22:18.01) finished 15th and 21st, respectively. Senior Erica Kolakowski (22:20.44) finished 22nd to round out the Auburn scoring. Freshmen Emily Stevens was 45th in 22:53.74.
With 71 total points, the women tied with Tennessee for first place. Host Florida (76 pts) was third and South Carolina (109 pts) fourth.
"Veronica and Ty ran great races, as did the rest of the team," Carroll said. "We had numerous personal bests, which is very positive as we move forward. Our training has been going well and this meet will leave good memories for when we return in November for the SEC Championship on the same course."
Making his debut for the Tigers, McCormack was the top Auburn men's finisher in the 8k race in 24:08.11. Setting a new personal best, Sam Mueller (24:38.47) finished seventh while Niklas Buhner was 12th (24:46.27). Fellow teammates Kane Grimster and Francis Hernandez also finished the day with new personal bests. Grimster was 15th (25:02.14) and Hernandez finished 18th (25:07.15) to complete Auburn's scoring. Senior Jason Miller was 48th in 26:10.41.
Florida won the men's team title with 33 total points, followed by Auburn with 50. Tennessee (55 pts) was third and North Florida (143 pts) was fourth.
The Tigers return to action next week as they travel to Hampton, Ga. to compete in the Georgia State Invite.
For the latest on Auburn cross country follow @AUTrack on Twitter.
Men's Team Results
1. Florida, 33; 2. Auburn, 50; 3. Tennessee, 55; 4. North Florida, 143; 5. Florida Gulf Coast, 149; 6. Miami, 157; 7. LSU, 201; 8. Florida A&M, 202; 9. Florida Atlantic, 259; 10. South Florida, 274.
AU Men's Individual Results
3. Ty McCormack, 24:08.11
7. Samuel Mueller, 24:38.47
12. Niklas Buhner, 24:46.27
15. Kane Grimster, 25:02.14
18. Francisco Hernandez, 25:07.15
48. Jason Miller, 26:10.99
Women's Team Results
T1. Auburn, 71; T1. Tennessee, 71; 3. Florida, 76; 4. South Carolina, 109; 5. South Florida, 154; 6. North Florida, 166; 7. UCF, 198; 8. Florida Atlantic, 212; 9. Florida A&M, 225; 10. LSU, 246.
AU Women's Individual Results
4. Veronica Eder, 21:30.96
13. Rachel Givens, 21:56.05
15. Kristin Sheehan, 22:07.23
21. Sage Blackwell, 22:18.01
22. Erika Kolakowski, 22:20.44
45. Emily Stevens, 22:53.74