Men's Cross Country Teams Finish 6th, Women Take 9th At 2008 SEC Championships

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Men's Cross Country Teams Finish 6th, Women Take 9th At 2008 SEC Championships

November 03, 2008 | Cross Country

By: hailstate.com

? 2008 SEC Cross Country Championships Results

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? In sunshine and mid-70 degree temperatures, the Mississippi State men's and women's cross country teams took to their home course Monday, fighting for the 2008 SEC Championship title. The men finished in the top half of the conference, taking 6th place, while the women took 9th place overall.

Alabama knocked off 17-time defending champion Arkansas to take top honors on the men's side, while the Lady Razorbacks held off Florida to win the women's title.

For the MSU women, freshmen Renee Masterson and Lydia Chebii clocked in State's fastest times of 22:00.76 and 22:05.10 in the 6K race, respectively. Masterson and Chebii also finished among the top seven freshmen to earn Freshmen All-SEC honors.

“Our goal is always to be in the top half of the conference,” MSU women's coach Al Schmidt said. “I actually ran five freshmen and two sophomores, and we had some physical problems which we didn't have enough depth to handle. But we had two All- freshmen, so I'm very happy about that, and the future looks good for us.”

Arkansas' women totaled 46 total points, while Florida was a close second with 53 points. Tennessee took third with 107 points. Catherine White, an Arkansas sophomore, was the meet's overall top performer, clocking in at 20:07.26. Coming in second and third overall was sophomore Hollie Knight from Auburn and senior Sarah Bowman from Tennessee, running 20:18.52 and 20:27.26, respectively.

With two runners finishing in the overall top 20, the MSU men team stuck with their goal and finished in the top half of the conference. Senior Robert Scribner and sophomore Adam Lenz took 16th and 20th place overall in the 8K race. Scribner, Mississippi State's top overall performer, finished with a time of 24:22.27, while Lenz posted a run of 24:39.42.

“With the kids we have on this team, sixth was very good,” said men's coach Steve Dudley. “I think we were pre-season ranked ninth or tenth, so we definitely finished higher than what we were ranked.”

Alabama scored 32 total points, while Auburn finished second with 62 points. Arkansas, which had won this event every year since 1991, was third with 75 points. Girma Mesecho, an Auburn freshman, was the men's top performer, winning the 8K race with a time of 23:11.26. Second and third place went to junior Tyson David from Alabama and junior Elkanah Kibet from Auburn finishing in 26:16.26 and 23:20.35.

Next up for the MSU men's and women's teams are is the NCAA South Regional Championship in Knoxville, Tenn. on November 15.

MSU men's 8K individual results
16. Robert Scribner 24:22.27; 20. Adam Lenz 24:39.42; 34. Jonathan Rono 25:08:99; 55. Cameron Vincent 25:47.28:12; 76. Golden Coachman 26:24.46; 77. Thuom Mathiang 26:31.10; 81. Matthew Cameron 26:44.93; 85. Daniel Simpkins 26:56.83; 88. Mitch Weegman 27:19.17

Men's Results
1. Alabama (32 points); 2.Auburn (62 points); 3.Arkansas (75 points); 4.Florida (107 points); 5. Tennessee (130 points); 6 Mississippi State (186 points); 7.Kentucky (192 points); 8.Georgia (227 points); 9. Mississippi (245 points); 10.LSU (257 points); 11.Vanderbilt (292 points)

MSU women's 6K Individual results
35. Renee Masterson 22:00.76; 38. Lydia Chebii 22:05.10; 58. Sarah Hammes 23:01.38; 64.Dominique Lockhart 23:11.75; 75. Simone Domingue 23:33.59; 76. Loren Bruce 23:36.31; 85.Anais DeChamps 24:14.43

Women's Results
1.Arkansas (46 points); 2.Florida (53 points); 3.Tennessee (107 points); 4.Georgia (117 points); 5.Auburn (127 points); 6.Kentucky (134 points); 7.Alabama (170 points); 8.Vanderbilt (177 points); 9.Mississippi State (252 points); 10. South Carolina (262 points); 11.Mississippi (333 points); 12.LSU (341 points)