AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn cross country returns to action Friday, September 27, making the trip to Columbia, Missouri to compete in the Gans Creek Classic. The squads will compete at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course with the women running the 6k at 8 a.m. CT and the men running the 8k at 8:45 a.m. CT.
“We’re excited to get going,” Auburn cross country coach Aaron Kindt said. “It’s been a little bit of a challenge keeping them at bay. I think they’re ready to get out some of that energy. They’re definitely excited to get the season going this weekend.”
The last time the Tigers competed at Gans Creek was in 2021 at the SEC Championships where the men finished tenth and the women took ninth.
Auburn gets the chance to show off a total of 22 Tigers, 10 men and 12 women, against Baylor, NR/6 Florida, Georgia Tech, NR/13 Lipscomb, Kentucky, 28/26 Ole Miss, 10/8 Stanford, NR/9 Tennessee, UCLA and host Missouri.
This is the first meet of the season that both the men’s and women’s squads will compete.
“Challenges that come with that: we don’t have our race legs underneath us,” Kindt said. “Some people have raced earlier in the year and they’re a little bit sharper. We’re going to be relying entirely on a different type of training than in years past. It’s a different mindset and different expectations you have to have of how the race will go. It’s going to be a challenge for this group for sure.”
The Auburn women competed earlier this month at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, where they finished 13th overall.
Making her Auburn debut, freshman Alexandra Walsh was the first Tiger to finish on the 5k course (17:48.14). Walsh was closely followed by sophomore Ava McIntosh who finished with a time of 17:48.38. Walsh and McIntosh will be running in Columbia.
The duo will be joined by seniors Hallie Porterfield and Samantha Rogers, junior Gené Coetzee, sophomores Shelby Balding, Mary Mac Collins, Audrey Dunn and Cady McPhail and freshmen Camila Gomes, Brenda Jepchirchir and Mary Malone.
On the men’s side, a wealth of knowledge is heading to the course. The team will be led by six seniors this weekend including Ryan Kinnane who placed ninth at SEC Championships, 12th at the NCAA South Regional, and was the top finisher for the men at every meet he raced in last season.
Running alongside Kinnane will be senior Fuji Anday, Cooper Atkins, Carson Bedics, Hayden Judge and Louis O’Loughlin, junior Joseph Perry, sophomores Max Hardin and Evan Hill, and freshman Nickson Chebii.
“I’m looking to see how we stack up against some of these better teams in the country,” Kindt said. “I want to see great efforts. I want to see some fight. The way we’ve trained, I’m looking to see some resilience.”
Live results can be found at pttiming.com.
Up Next, Auburn cross country heads to Madison, Wisconsin to compete at Pre-Nationals on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course Saturday, October 19.