AUBURN, Ala.—The Auburn cross country team returns to action Friday at the FSU Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. The meet will start bright and early with the 8k men's collegiate invite at 6:40 a.m. CT followed by the women's collegiate invite at 7:10 a.m. The races will be held at the Apalachee Regional Park.
Auburn is no stranger to the Apalachee Regional Park and its 2000-meter loop, as the Tigers have competed at the NCAA South Regional over the last several years.
"It's going to be very nice. We'll see some familiar faces, but also some people we don't see all the time," Auburn cross country coach David Barnett said. "Both races will have 10 teams from the SEC and ACC. It will be really nice to see where we stack up and how we're making progress."
The 10-team fields will include Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, and Miami (FL) racing on the men's side. The women's fields will include the same programs with the exception of LSU and the addition of Mississippi State.
The meet will be the Tigers' second competition of the fall and first since kicking off the season on September 19 at the Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn.
"I think the team is finally starting to turn the corner," Barnett said. "In my mind, I think we were a little bit behind getting back from our strange summer break. But every workout has been a little bit better than the last and I can tell their confidence is building a little bit too. They've been they've been doing really well. I feel like coming up at FSU, on a very familiar course, they're going to run very well."
At the season opener, junior Abbey Zane led the Auburn women, crossing the 6k course in 22:45.0 to finish 20th. The Huntsville, Ala., native ran nearly 20 seconds faster than she did a year ago on the same course.
True freshman Ryan Kinnane from Andover, Kan., was the men's top finisher, crossing the 8k course in 25:32.1. Senior Jack Rogers was Auburn's second finisher, crossing in 19th with a time of 25:45.3.
The FSU Invitational is one of four meets for the Tigers this fall. They will race at the UAB Blazer Invitational on October 16 in Birmingham before wrapping up the season October 30 at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge, La.