AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn cross country team is back in action this week as they head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to compete in the Crimson Classic on Friday. The Tigers will compete at Harry Pritchett Running Course with the men running an 8k at 8:30 a.m. CT and the women running a 6k at 9:20 a.m. CT.
"This is our last tune up before we head into the final two meets of the year," said Auburn cross country coach Aaron Kindt. "With our sport, it comes down to championship season. While this meet is important, it is important in the sense that we finally tune our race strategy."
Coming off their last meet in Boston on September 29, where the men finished sixth and the women seventh, the team will look to improve with one last race before the postseason in two weeks. Friday's course in Tuscaloosa will provide some familiarity to the upperclassmen who raced at the Crimson Classic last season.
"We're trying to challenge for a top, second, or third place finish," Kindt said. "If we can catch Alabama off guard, we have a chance to bring a win home. This weekend should be a great challenge for us as far as making sure that we are ready to beat some of the better regional teams."
The women will have nine athletes lined up against SEC rivals No. 14 Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State, as well as Clemson, Troy, South Alabama, and Samford. The other women competing this weekend also ran in Boston.
Coming off the the best race of her Auburn career with a fouth-place finish in the 5k at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown, the women are looking toward Gené Coetzee to continue pushing herself. Finishing right behind Coetzee with a time of 17:36.80 was junior Hallie Porterfield. Porterfield continues ot be a steady presence for the team.
On the men's side, the Tigers will face SEC rivals No. 22 Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, as well as Miami, Memphis and No. 19 Florida State.
There will be nine athletes running for the men as well. With a second-place finish in Boston, senior Ryan Kinnane completed his 8k with a time of 23:48.90. He will be running alongside Cooper Atkins who had a strong finish in Boston and ran one of his best cross country races at Auburn. Atkins finished with a time of 24:43.60.
"This is an important weekend for our team as a whole and what our identity is going to be there final four weeks of the season."
Up Next
Auburn will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to compete at the SEC Cross Country Championships Oct. 27.
