Oct. 25, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn cross country is set to head to Athens, Ga. for the SEC Cross Country Championships held Friday at the UGA Golf Course.
The men will run an 8k slated for a 9 am CT start while the women's 6k will begin at 10 am CT.
"We are excited about the meet," assistant cross country and track and field coach David Barnett said. "We've been preparing all season and everything has been going well in workouts, general training ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" everyone has been getting recovered. I feel like every single week and every single meet we just get better and better, and there's no reason to believe that this week will be any different. The men are excited, the women are excited, and we think we can do really good things this weekend."
Both the men's and women's team enter the championships ranked in the top-10 of the South Region rankings. The women are ranked No. 6 while the men are No. 7 in their respective polls.
Women's runner Brenda Kigen will look to have another big outing for the Tigers following an outstanding performance at the Crimson Classic where she won the 6k with a 20:23.4 mark. It marked the first cross country win of the junior's career. The Eldoret, Kenya, product was one of three Tigers to finish in the top-20 of the race as freshmen Joyce Kimeli and Faith Bett finished 16th and 18th, respectively.
On the men's side, seniors Kevin Wyss, Coleman Churitch, Wesley Curles and Wesley Pectol will look to lead the men to the SEC title. The quartet finished in the top-25 at the Crimson Classic with Churitch leading the way, clocking a 24:52.0 to finish 16th.
The Tigers will face strong competition as five teams are ranked in the nation's top-30 in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Div. 1 Coaches Poll. Arkansas, ranked No. 7 in women's and No. 27 in men's, is the defending champion on both the men's and women's side.
A one-hour SEC Cross Country Championships highlight show will air Sunday, Nov. 5 at 11 am CT on the SEC Network. Live scoring will be available at SECsports.com and GeorgiaDogs.com.