AUBURN, Ala.—The Auburn cross country team will open the 2019 season Friday at the JSU Strut's Season Opener at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. The meet, hosted by Jacksonville State, will start at 6 p.m. CT with the women's 4k followed by the men's 5k.
The team, led by a strong core of runners and third-year head coach, David Barnett, are excited for a new season and the positive, forward momentum coming off of the success of last season.
The Tiger men are led by a nucleus of sophomore Silas Kipngetich, senior Andy Smith, junior Jack Rodgers and junior Tommy McDonough. Kipngetich is the front runner as he finished 13th at the SEC Championships and 10th at the NCAA South Regional in 2018, just missing qualifying for the national championship.
"Those four guys are our real mainstays and it takes five," Barnett said. "We have four so I am excited to see what some of the other guys, the freshman, can do to step up and contribute."
The Auburn women's team features a larger, more experienced roster than the men's team, returning its top four scorers from last year's SEC meet. The top returner is junior Joyce Kimeli, who was a national qualifier for cross country last year after finishing top five at the SEC Championships. She also earned All-America honors outdoors after advancing to nationals in two events.
"We have a lot of really quality women who will be contributing, so we're really excited about the women's team," Barnett said. "We have a lot of different options and competition to be in the top seven and the top five."
Other returners include junior Mercy Kiprop, junior Louisa McPherson, sophomore Hannah Tarwater and senior Presley Weems. Also returning is redshirt sophomore Faith Bett who was a freshman All-SEC member in 2017.
The JSU Strut's Season Opener will be on a flat, all-grass course, which Barnett believes to be a great way to knock the rust off and get a starting point for the rest of the season.
"The biggest thing we want to do is go out there, set the tone, be aggressive and set ourselves up for a very strong effort at Vanderbilt two weeks from now," Barnett said.
The Tigers travel to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee for their second meet of the season which is shaping up to be quite competitive. The team will round out the regular season of competition at the Joe Piane Invitational at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana before heading into the championship portion of the season beginning with the SEC championships to the Regional and National Championships.