Auburn men finish third at SEC Championships

Oct. 31, 2014

2014 SEC Cross Country Championships Location Harry Pritchett Running Course -- Tuscaloosa, Ala. Results Men's Results | Women's Results Photos Photo Gallery Online Twitter: @AUTrack | Facebook: Auburn Track & Field

TUSCALOOSA Ala. - The Auburn men's cross country team recorded its best finish at the SEC Championships since 2009 on Friday, finishing third with 77 points at the Harry Pritchett Running Course.

The Tigers were led by senior Ty McCormack, who finished runner-up with a time of 23:58.64. McCormack was neck and neck with Arkansas' Stanley Kebenei throughout the race, but was edged out in the final 2000m to earn his second First Team All-SEC honor. The Gainesville, Ga., native has finished either first or second in every race this season.

Senior Kane Grimster earned his second-consecutive All-SEC Team honor and third of his career after finishing ninth at 24:41.55. Senior Niklas Buhner recorded a season-best 8k time of 24:58.74 to finish 17th followed by senior Griffin Jaworski, who finished 21st at 25:04.79. Junior Redatu Semeon finished 28th at 25:18.32, while Coleman Churitch was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team following his 40th place performance, clocking a 25:33.70.

"It was an awesome showing on the men's side. Ty gave it everything he could," head coach Mark Carroll said. "If Ty keeps going like he is, he will hopefully be top-10 or top-15 at the NCAA Championships. As a team, it was probably the best performance we had in years. Kane Grimster hasn't run in about three weeks, didn't run in spikes today and still finished ninth. Niklas (Buhner), Redatu (Semeon) and Griffin (Jaworski) all had their best races of the season. Across the board, the men came ready to play today and they deserved their third place finish today."

Freshman Molly McKenna paced the women's squad to a ninth place finish, placing 33rd with a time of 21:00.72, to earn a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Sophomore Rachel Givens clocked a 21:08.34 to finish 40th, followed by sophomore Veronica Eder, who finished 47th at 21:25.41.

The Tigers will return to action on Nov. 14 for the NCAA South Regional in Tallahassee, Fla.

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