AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn cross country team returns to action Friday, making the trip to Boston to compete in the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. The Tigers will compete at Franklin Park with the women running a 5k at 11:00 a.m. CT and the men running an 8k at 11:30 a.m. CT.
This is the first time the Auburn cross country team has traveled to Boston to compete. With an experienced men's team and an exciting young group of women, the Tigers are looking forward to a challenge while competing against some teams that they haven't seen before.
"I want to see how we handle the environment of being somewhere we've never been before," said Auburn cross country coach Aaron Kindt. "We've been excellent so far in places we're familiar with and where we have fans. I want to see if we can run with some composure and be able to execute out plan in an unfamiliar environment."
Auburn gets the chance to show off a total of 20 Tigers, 10 men and 10 women, against Ivy Leage powers like Harvard, Cornell and Dartmouth along with Villanova, Texas A&M, and host Boston College.
Included in that group of 20 is senior Ryan Kinnane, who recently won SEC Runner of the Week and was awarded U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association Runner of the Week after he captured his first collegiate win in the men's 8k at the Southern Showcase. He will run with freshman Max Hardin and Fuji Anday and seniors Carson Bedics and Dustyn Lewis.
"We preach the same process over and over whether we're at the Piggly Wiggly relays or we go to the NCAA championships. This is where that process gets tested and part of the goal for a trip like this is going to test every part of that," Kindt said.
Coming off a second place finish at the South Showcase, the women are ready for the challenge. Freshman Mary Mac Collins will be running this weekend along with sophomore Gené Coetzee, who finished second at the meet in Huntsville two weeks ago. Running alongside Coetzee will be fellow sophomores Shelby Balding and Hailey Marston.
"Our big motto the last ten days has been this is a business trip. We're here to get a job done," Kindt said.
Up Next
Auburn cross country will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to compete in the Crimson Classic at Pritchett Running Course on Friday, Oct. 13.