AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn cross country team will kick start the 2021 campaign by traveling to Oxford, Ala. to compete in the Foothills Invitational, hosted by Jacksonville State University, on Friday. The meet will be held at Choccolocco Park Sports Complex with the women's 4k beginning at 6 p.m. CT and the men's 5k beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Themeet will mark the first competition under new cross country/distance coach Aaron Kindt.
"Coaching at Auburn was an opportunity I could not pass up," Kindt said. I am excited to coach in the SEC and see where we stack up against some of the very best in the country."
Kindt will lead a group of seven returners and five newcomers to compete on Friday.
Running for the men are seniors Tommy McDonough and Jackson Thomas, sophomores Carson Bedics and Ryan Kinnane and freshmen Cooper Atkins, Benson Atkins and Mark Foster.
"On the men's side, we're very young, but we're very hard," said coach Kindt. "That group's future is very bright. This year will include a lot of training and learning to compete at the highest level, but I know they have the ability to do so. There is a lot of potential for good stuff out of that group this year."
The women's group racing in Oxford will include seniors Lindsey Granier and Louisa McPherson, sophomore Samantha Rogers and freshmen Hallie Porterfield and Hannah Thuss.
"The women are training really hard and I'm excited to watch them get going," Kindt said. "This first meet will be a good gauge of where we're at and where we can go from there on.
"I want to see how these kids compete, how they compete in a team setting where not everyone's going to have their best day. I want to see how they manage that and how they work through it. I want to see how they establish expectations and what our culture will be when we show up on meet days. The Foothills Invitational is an important first step in establishing our culture moving forward."
A total of 14 teams will be racing at the Foothills Invitational including: Alabama State, Birmingham-Southern, Chattanooga, Columbus State, Huntingdon, LaGrange, North Alabama, Shorter, Troy, Tuskegee, University of the South, Wallace State and West Georgia.
Up Next
The Tigers have a week off to reflect and train before heading to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete in the FSU Cross Country Open on Friday, Sept. 17.