AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn cross country teams take on the SEC Championships on Friday, Oct. 30, hosted at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. The women will run the 6k at 10:08 CT, followed by the men’s 8k race at 10:45 CT.
“We're excited to go in there. I think we've improved a lot from how the team competed last year, so there is a renewed energy to get out there and beat as many teams as we are capable of beating,” Auburn associate head cross country coach Kara Foster said
The highly competitive meet will feature four nationally ranked teams on the women’s side including Florida (No. 4), Alabama (No. 9), South Carolina (No. 11), and host Missouri (No. 17).
The men’s race will also feature four ranked squads: Alabama (No. 4), Arkansas (No. 7), Florida (No. 9), and Tennessee (No. 18). Auburn’s women are current ranked fourth in the South Region, the highest in program history.
Nine of the women will travel to Columbia. Veteran experience will come from runners such as seniors Cady McPhail and Audrey Dunn, as well as junior Camila Gomes.
“On the women’s side, I think we have been growing with each race,” Foster said. “Getting a bit better each week of the season, adding more people into our lineup and then getting that experience and exposure.
Freshman sensation Faith Chelangat comes off an incredible race at the pre-National in Terre Haute, Ind, where she finished second overall and ran the third-fastest time ever on a historic course, which regularly hosts NCAA Championships and multiple meets a season.
“She is just a phenomenal athlete, and she is in great form right now,” Foster said. “I would not count her out for anything.”
All seven of the men will travel to SECs, including 2026 silver medalist and NCAA qualifier Nickson Chebii.
“On the men’s side, it’s a little bit of the same story,” Foster said. “We’ve added everybody into the lineup at the last meet, and this is the one we’ve had our eyes on all season. We are really excited to see what the men can do. They’ve been looking great in practice all year.”
Senior Max Hardin, named the league’s male scholar-athlete of the year on Wednesday, will also vie for all-conference honors on Friday.
“Max and Nickson, they’re our front runners,” Foster said. “When we get to the SEC meet, they're going to come to play. So, I'm excited to see how they compete and who they can be.”
The All-SEC team for each gender consists of the top seven finishers for the first team. The second team consists of finishers 8-14, and the third team finishers 15-21. The All-Freshman team consists of the top seven freshman finishers in each race.
Both races will air live on the SEC Network with live results available at https://live.pttiming.com.