HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Both Auburn squads earned respective top-15 finishes Friday at the NCAA South Regional on the John Hunt Cross Country Course thanks to a trio of All-Region performances coming by way of juniors Ryan Kinnane and Samantha Rogers and sophomore Carson Bedics.
Following a strong, seventh-place finish in the 10k at the NCAA South Regional, Kinnane is poised to become the men's NCAA individual qualifier since Kane Grimster and Ty McCormack in 2014.
Both the men's and women's teams ran a strong race in Huntsville finishing 5th and 11th, respectively. Of the Tigers' 14 runners, 11 left the meet with career-best performances.
"The last few weeks, I've told the men's group I believed there was still another gear we could get to and that we had yet to show what we were really capable of as a team," Tigers head coach Aaron Kindt said. "Today, we finally got a glimpse of what that potential can be."
For the Auburn men, it was Kinnane leading the way as he has done all season long. His seventh-place individual finish catapulted the team to a fifth-place team finish, which is the best at the meet since 2015. Completing the course in 29:33.2, Kinnane improved upon his 10k personal best by one minute. His previous top mark came at the NCAA South Regional meet last year.
"Ryan has been special for us all year," Kindt said. "His execution of the race plan was superb, and I thought today was his most complete race all year."
Also stepping up in a huge way were fellow underclassmen, sophomores Bedics (30:24.1) and Louis O'Loughlin (30:59.6), both recording new personal-best marks.
"Carson saved the best for last," Kindt said. "He was outstanding getting out into that first chase pack and grinding his way to earning All-Region."
Sophomore Cooper Atkins (31:31.8), freshmen Joseph Perry (31:48.1) and Isaiah Billingsley (31:53.9), and junior Dustyn Lewis (32:01.8) finished inside the top 100 to notch the team's final points of the meet. Despite the cold and rainy weather, all four ran new personal-best 10k marks.
The Auburn men's average pace was 31:26.
For the Auburn women, it was Rogers who carried the torch one more. Rogers clocked a 20:07.1 in the 6k.
"Samantha just continues to get better and more confident each and every week," Kindt said. "I'm so proud of the work she's put in and how much she has grown this last year."
Following Rogers were freshman Gené Coetzee (21:13.2) and senior Hannah Tarwater (21:13.8). Both Rogers and Tarwater also got in on the personal-best party, each notching new marks of their own.
Wrapping up the women's finishers were senior Sara Pacer (22:05.3), sophomore Hannah Thuss (22:42.6), and freshman Hailey Marston (22:47.8).
The average pace for the Auburn women was 21:43.
Up Next
The 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championship field will be revealed via the NCAA Selection Show Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. The show will be streamed via NCAA.com.
All participants will then make the trip to Stillwater, Okla. for the sport's biggest stage on Saturday, November 19.
2022 NCAA South Regional
John Hunt Cross Country Course
Huntsville, Ala.
Women's Results (6k)
11. Auburn, 334 points
Auburn Individual Results
16. Samantha Rogers, 20:07.1
53. Gené Coetzee, 21:13.2
54. Hannah Tarwater, 21:13.8
103. Hallie Porterfield, 21:56.6
116. Sara Pacer, 22:05.3
150. Hannah Thuss, 22:42.6
161. Hailey Marston, 22:47.8
Men's Results (10k)
5. Auburn, 204 points
Auburn Individual Results
7. Ryan Kinnane, 29:33.2
25. Carson Bedics, 30:24.1
42. Louis O'Loughlin, 30:59.6
69. Cooper Atkins, 31:31.8
83. Joseph Perry, 31:48.1
87. Isaiah Billingsley, 31:53.9
93. Dustyn Lewis, 32:01.8