AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn cross country team will compete at the 2025 Southeastern Conference Championships Friday morning at the Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course in Knoxville, Tennessee. The men will kick off the 8k at 9:08 a.m. CT, followed by the women’s 6k at 9:53 a.m. CT.
"I really like how both teams have come together,” Auburn cross country coach Aaron Kindt said. “I think our teams look pretty sharp. I’m looking forward to this weekend; this is the big one.”
A total of 18 Tigers are set to compete for the conference’s top honors, including ten with previous SEC Championships experience and eight making their conference debut.
At the 2024 SEC Championships in Bryan-College Station, Texas, the men finished seventh and the women took eighth. It marked the first time since 2015 that both programs earned top eight placements at the conference meet.
For the men, sophomore Nickson Chebii has consistently set the pace for Auburn this season as the top finisher in all three meets and placing inside the top seven each race.
“Nickson will be the guy that we’re counting on and hoping for a top 10 finish,” Kindt said. “The field is stacked at the front, but I think he has put himself in a great place this year as far as fitness, composure and maturity heading into his second cross country season here. He’s a lot more comfortable than he was this time last year.”
The men delivered a strong season opener at the JSU Foothills Invitational, where they finished second overall behind Chebii’s college-best performance in the 5k (14:44.20).
Another steady presence for the squad has been junior Evan Hill. The Scottsboro, Alabama native, has posted career-best marks in all three meets this season, finishing among Auburn’s top four runners each time.
Chebii and Hill will be joined by seniors Rex Green and Joseph Perry, junior Max Hardin, sophomore Joshua Kosgei and freshman Bryce McCleary.
On the women’s side, sophomore Camila Gomes and senior Gené Coetzee have been at the forefront for the Tigers, setting the tone for the team during the season.
“Camila has been a standout for us,” Kindt said. “We knew that she had been ready to get up there and start running as one of our lead runners. She was a big help last week, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her and Gené be our two front runners going into the SEC Championships.”
Gomes and Coetzee delivered top 20 finishes at the Crimson Classic last week in the women’s 6k, with Gomes placing 14th (20:19.00) and Coetzee finishing 16th (20:30.20).
“We have a pretty young team in the back that we’re counting on. Cady McPhail has been a linchpin in that third spot, but we’re counting on a lot of people who have not been in these positions before. We’re going to really lean on our two frontrunners on the women’s side.”
Helping the women secure a first-place finish at the JSU Foothills Invitational, McPhail opened her season with a third-place finish overall in the 5k (17:35.16).
Running alongside Coetzee, Gomes and McPhail will be juniors Mary Mac Collins and Audrey Dunn, sophomores Addison Boyer and Alexandra Walsh and freshmen Ava Field, Kennedy Hamilton and Olivia Stedl.
The Arkansas men and Alabama women won the titles last year with 38 and 72 points, respectively. Heading into the weekend, three men’s SEC programs are ranked in the top 25, including No. 8 Alabama, No. 20 Georgia and No. 22 Missouri. On the women’s side, there are four programs in the top 25: No. 3 Florida, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 23 Missouri and No. 25 Alabama.
Live results can be found at AdkinsTrak Timing Associates, and the SEC Network will televise the championships starting at 9 a.m. CT.
Up Next
The Tigers will travel to Huntsville, Alabama, for the NCAA South Regional on Friday, November 15, at the John Hunt Cross Country Running Park.