Auburn, Ala. – Auburn junior Ryan Kinnane finished ninth overall to help lead the Auburn men's cross country team a fifth-place finish at the SEC Cross Country Championships Friday, the Tigers best showing at the championships since 2014. The Auburn women, behind sophomore Gené Coetzee and a trio of freshmen, finished 11th as a team with 283 points.
"I'm very proud of the performance our men's team put together today," Auburn cross country coach Ryan Kindt said. "These guys trusted the plan, trusted each other, and showed a lot of heart. I couldn't be prouder of what they put out there. Two years ago, we started the fall ranked dead last. This group of upperclassmen led by Ryan, Cooper (Atkins), Carson (Bedics), and Dustyn (Lewis) have help build a culture and a program that has risen from the very bottom and in two seasons put together the best SEC Championship performance in almost a decade. I am really happy for those guys."
Kinnane crossed the 8k race at the Charwood Golf Club in 23:13.3, also good for the best men's individual finisher at SECs since Ty McCormack was second nine years ago. The two-time SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year got out early with the lead pack and hung within the seventh position during the first 7k of the race before finishing in the top 10. With an 11th place finish a year ago, it was the best back-to-back performance at conference since McCormack and Kane Grimster posted top 10 results in 2013 and '14.
"Going into the meet with Ryan we had decided to take a couple chances with the top of the field and give Ryan a shot at a memorable day. The gamble came up just short of that special day, but despite finding himself in very difficult situation, Ryan fought his way to a top 10 finish. These are the days that I feel like Ryan shows us what makes him special. Despite his most challenging day of the year, he still fought through every step and was able to put together another fabulous race."
Auburn junior Carson Bedics put together his best SEC showing of his career with a 28th place finish as he crossed in 24:12.1, one spot ahead of freshman Max Hardin who was 29th in 24:13.0. Hardin was the third freshman finisher in the field and put together the best SEC performance at the conference meet by a rookie since Silas Kipngetich in 2018.
"Carson and Max were exceptional," Kindt said. "Carson is the hardest working guy on our team and he's starting to see his potential as one of our leaders. I'm really proud of the stretch of performances he's put together. Max was phenomenal and just the spark this group needed to launch us into that top five spot. He's had a tremendous freshman year and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for him at Auburn."
As a team, the Auburn men held steady ground in the sixth position from 3000m through 6000m before making a late push to garner that fifth spot in the team standings. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were juniors Louis O'Loughlin and Fuji Anday, who were 38th (24:25.8) and 52nd (24:53.6) overall.
Racing in her second SEC championship, Coetzee crossed in 25th place in a time of 20:43.9, to pace the Tiger women. As a freshman in 2022, Coetzee was 24th overall. The trio of freshman Mary Mac Collins, Shelby Balding and Ava McIntosh crossed in 58th, 64th and 74th place. Collins completed the 6k course in 21:35.7, while Balding was five seconds behind in 21:40.4.
The Auburn women got in an early hole and were in 13th place as a team thru the first portion of the race, but gradually improved their position, knocking off one team in the third through fifth kilometer of the race.
"The women came up just short of our goal," Kindt said. "We started off in a pretty deep hole for the first mile of this race, but credit to this young group, they kept their composure, like they have all year. They did a great job working through a very difficult position. Heading into the final 1000 meters they had found a way to get into position to finish in the top seven and fell just short at the very end. Although it was a tough day, this is a very competitive and resilient group of young women and I know they will bounce back."
Senior Hannah Tarwater, racing in her fifth and final SEC cross country meet, rounded out Auburn's scoring taking home 91st place in a time of 22:13.9.
Arkansas won the men's team title with 38 points, while Florida claimed the women's title with 49 points. Victor Kiprop of Alabama and Florida's Parker Valby won the men's and women's individual titles, respectively.
Up Next
The Tigers will travel to Gainesville, Florida for the NCAA South Regionals on Nov. 10 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
2023 Southeastern Conference Championships
Charwood Golf Club
Columbia, S.C.
Auburn Women's Team Results (6k)
11.Auburn, 283 points
Auburn Women's Individual Results
25.Gené Coetzee, 20:43.9
58.Mary Mac Collins, 21:35.7
64. Shelby Balding, 21:40.4
74. Ava McIntosh, 21:52.0
91. Hannah Tarwater, 22:13.9
105. Hannah Thuss, 22:26.3
112. Cady McPhail, 22:36.2
124. Audrey Dunn, 23:16.0
Hallie Porterfield, DNF
Men's Team Results (8k)
5.Auburn, 148 points
Auburn Men's Individual Results
9.Ryan Kinnane, 23:13.3
28. Carson Bedics, 24:12.1
29. Max Hardin, 24:13.0
38. Louis O'Loughlin, 24:25.8
52. Fuji Anday, 24:53.6
54. Cooper Atkins, 24:58.0
67. Dustyn Lewis, 25:12.6
86. Joseph Perry, 25:39.1
97. Ethan Snyder, 26:16.4