Aggie men and women place eighth in SEC Cross Country Championships

Friday, October 27

Athens, Ga.

9 a.m.

Texas A&M

SEC Championships

Oct 27, 2017 | Cross Country

SEC Mens Results SEC Womens Results Gallery - SEC Championships - Men's race Gallery - SEC Championships - Women's race

ATHENS, Georgia – Texas A&M's men and women cross country teams each placed eighth in team scoring at the SEC Championships on Friday while placing an individual finisher among the top 10 of each race.

Competing on the challenging and hilly University of Georgia golf course, the Aggie men tied with Missouri as each scored 201 points. Missouri claimed the tie-breaker for seventh place with a 3-2 edge.

Christian Farris led the men's squad with a ninth-place finish, covering the 8,000-meter course in 24:04.3. Farris continued his progression in the conference meet after placing 18^th last season and 23^rd two years ago.

"I'm pumped with my finish, and I'm on a whole different level than I thought I was," said Farris, who improved his time by 95 seconds on this course when he ran 25:39.5 in early September. "It was incredible to drop that much time from my previous race here. It just shows the level I'm on and it's exciting.

"Having run this course earlier I was able to start the race faster than what I usually do to be with the lead pack. Knowing the course really helped and on the last lap I was able to pass some people."

The Aggie women scored 181 points, just 17 points away from fourth place, as they were led by Kelsie Warren's 10^th-place performance. Warren posted a time of 20:43.2 on the 6,000m course.

"Easily those are the best finishes of their career with the efforts from Christian Farris and Kelsie Warren," stated Texas A&M assistant coach Wendel McRaven. "Christian is a testament to development. He's a kid who was very average out of high school and has just gotten better and better. Those are the stories you love to tell.

"Kelsie has started to figure out how good she can be. To finish 10^th in this conference as a sophomore is a big achievement. Women's cross country in this league is pretty good, this is a tough conference and one with a lot of individual fire power."

Warren added: "To be able to place that high in the SEC Championship is exciting. We have a pretty competitive conference, so I'm pretty pleased with that. As a team we were just a few points away from being where we really wanted to be. I think over the next two weeks we'll make the improvements to be there."

Texas A&M will serve as host of the NCAA South Central region meet in two weeks. Farris and Warren will both have an opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Championships as individuals.

"I'm excited going into the next couple of weeks to see what pans out with regionals," said McRaven. "I think Warren and Farris both have a great shot of qualifying for nationals."

Jon Bishop was the second Aggie runner on the men's side as Texas A&M contested the race without Alex Riba, who had an illness that prevented him from competing. Bishop ran 24:35.1 to place 23^rd, improving upon his 41^st place as a freshman last season.

"Riba had food poisoning, so the men did the best they could," said McRaven. "With him running, we may have been fourth or fifth. Tying for seventh, but getting beat on the tie-breaker, is a little bit frustrating."

Farris added: ""As a team we're not quite where we want to be. It was unfortunate with what happened and Riba couldn't race. I think we can regroup and come back in the region meet."

The second runner for the Aggie women was Ashley Driscoll, who finished 17^th with a clocking of 21:02.5. Last season Warren finished 45^th while Driscoll placed 88^th in the conference meet.

"Ashley Driscoll ran a heck of a race today as well," noted McRaven. "She had a dramatic improvement over her finish as a freshman last season. The women's team is still young with the core of the group, so for us to move up and improve how we finished as a team from last year is a good sign."

Arkansas swept the team titles once again. The Razorback men scored 41 points with Alabama (81) runner-up and Mississippi (82) in third. The Razorback women tallied 35 points with Georgia (88) runner-up and Mississippi (103) placing third.

Missouri's Karissa Schweizer won the women's individual title in 19:36.3 ahead of Taylor Werner of Arkansas (20:07.1) and Kentucky's Katy Kunz (20:13.2). Alabama swept the top three places in the men's race with the Kenyan trio of Vincent Kiprop (23:15.4), Gilbert Kigen (23:18.8) and Alfred Chelanga (23:23.4).

Kelsey Persyn was the third Aggie runner for the women, placing 45^th in 21:49.9 while Ashton Hutcherson finished 52^nd in 21:59.4. Completing the team score was Hannah Campbell, who ran 22:17.7 to place 64^th.

Placing 54^th Brandt Preston was the third Aggie runner for the men, covering the course in 25:21.2. The tandem of Taylor Clayton (25:39.9) and Zephyr Seagraves (25:40.3) placed 66^th and 67^th to complete the team scoring for Texas A&M.

Lauryn Barrientos came in as the sixth Aggie runner, placing 68^th in 22:21.1, while Lizette Chapa finished 94^th in 22:55.0. The rest of the Texas A&M crew included Olivia Arriaza (99^th, 23:07.1), Devin Norton (100^th, 23:10.3) and Maddie Vondra (108^th, 23.27.5).

The sixth runner for the Aggie men was Jacob Perry, who ran 25:43.7 for 71^st, as Ryan Yerrow placed 82^nd in 25:56.3. The Aggie crew also included Eli Canal (87^th, 26:10.7) and Sam Erickson (95^th, 26:32.4).

SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Team Finish

MEN: 1. Arkansas, 41; 2. Alabama, 81; 3. Mississippi, 82; 4. Kentucky, 110; 5. Tennessee, 125; 6. Georgia, 143; 7. Missouri, 201; 8. Texas A&M, 201; 9. Auburn, 206; 10. Florida, 272; 11. LSU, 312; 12. Vanderbilt, 342.

WOMEN: 1. Arkansas, 35; 2. Georgia, 88; 3. Mississippi, 103; 4. Missouri, 164; 5. Mississippi State, 167; 6. Kentucky, 170; 7. Alabama, 171; 8. Texas A&M, 181; 9. Vanderbilt, 191; 10. Tennessee, 231; 11. Auburn, 241; 12. South Carolina, 304; 13. Florida, 366; 14. LSU, 396.