TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama cross country teams travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this week for the 2016 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships, set for Friday, Oct. 28, at the University of Arkansas’ Agri Park.
Individually, senior Antibahs Kosgei will be seeking to repeat as the SEC men’s individual champion after winning the title a year ago at the 2015 championships in College Station, Texas. With a victory, Kosgei would become just the fourth repeat champion in Alabama cross country history, joining David Kimani (2000-01-02) and Robert Pette (1959-60) on the men’s side and women’s two-time champion Evelyn Adiru (1985, 1987).
Other Alabama individual men’s champions are Steve Bolt (1976), German Beltran (1998) and Emmanuel Bor (2007). On the women’s side, the Tide Carole Tremanier (1988) and Becki Wells (1993) captured individual championships.
Alabama has won three men’s conference team titles (1973, 2008, 2009) while the women have won two titles (1986, 1987).
22 Runners Set to Compete at SEC Championships
The Crimson Tide will run 22 student-athletes – 10 men and 12 women – in the SEC Championships on Friday.
Competing for the men’s squad will be seniors Robbie Farnham-Rose, Antibahs Kosgei, Evan Prizy and Conner Thompson; juniors Andrew Bull, Garrett Bull and Josh Short; sophomore Clay Austell and freshmen James Brinyark and Patrick Grant.
The women’s line-up will include senior Hannah Waggoner, juniors Caroline Barlow, Emily Edwards and Jessica Gray; sophomores Calli Coggins, Nicole Gardner and Sarah Mohan; and freshmen Rebecca Buteau, Hannah Capek, Elisabeth Danis, Brittany Tolson and McKenzie Yanek.
In the Rankings
The Crimson Tide women moved up to No. 4 and the men remained at No. 5 in their respective U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region rankings released Oct. 18. The next ranking will be released Oct. 31.
Head Coach Dan Waters’ Outlook
“We had some strong performances in the Crimson Classic and the team is peaking at the right time. I’m looking forward to seeing how we compete against the rest of the conference. The course at Arkansas is a fast one so this should be an exciting SEC championship meet.”
