Mississippi State
SEC Championships
Women?s Cross Country Has Historical Showing At SEC Championships
October 30, 2015 | Cross Country
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Call it a historical day for the Mississippi State women's cross country team.
Despite heavy rains and tornado threats, the No. 13th-ranked Bulldogs had the highest finish at the SEC Championships in program history, coming in second Friday afternoon.
The runner-up Bulldogs recorded 95 points, with five MSU runners finishing in the Top 25. In the preseason rankings, the women's team was voted to finish sixth in the conference.
Arkansas won both the women's and men's titles.
“It was a strange race, we got out very well in the beginning, but we were fourth at the 2K mark and then we rallied back,” MSU coach Houston Franks said. “We closed out well. We finished second, but we know we can run a lot better."
Leading the way for the women was senior Marta Freitas, who finished ninth overall with a time of 20:14.03 en route to earning second-team All-SEC honors.
Finishing second for the Bulldogs was senior Cornelia Griesche, who clocked a time of 20:26.40 to placed 17th overall.
Rhianwedd Price ran a time of 20:33.80 to finish 22nd. Immediately following Price was junior Lisa Ziegler in 23rd with a time of 20:35.70 and Mia Meydrich in 24th at 20:37.40.
Also running for the Maroon and White was Ffion Price, Shannon Fair and Antonia Hehr. Ffion Price ran a time of 20:51.30 to place 32nd. Fair posted a 39th place showing at 21:01.80, while Hehr ran 22:04.00 to place 91st.
The MSU men's team brought home a 10th-place finish with a total of 280 points. In preseason, the team was selected to finish 11th.
“Tenth place is not where we want our program to be,” Franks said. “We have a young team and we had a couple injuries facing us, but the guys ran tough and really aggressive. They really put themselves up in the race to finish as high as they could.”
Capturing MSU's No. 1 spot was senior Andrew Monaghan with a personal-best time 24:26.20 to finish 29th overall. Not far behind was senior Mathew Dunn in 32nd, also clocking personal-best 24:35.20.
“Andrew Monaghan ran a breakout race that we knew was coming and so did Mathew Dunn, both of them ran great,” Franks said. “Overall, I'm really proud of the team.”
Sophomore Branden Nosker finished 73rd with a time of 25:18.70.
Finishing in fourth and fifth for MSU were seniors Curtis Kelly and Patrick Monaghan. Kelly ran 25:32.90 to finish 78th, while Patrick Monaghan recorded a time of 25:54.20 to place 92nd.
In the sixth and seventh spots for MSU were freshman Tristan Orman and Pierce Rose. Orman ran 25:57.50 to finish 94th, while Rose record an 102nd finish with a time of 26:16.20.
“Today was a great learning experience for our freshman,” Andrew Monaghan said. “This was their first expose to elite competition, which will only help them going forward. Everyone put forth good effort and I'm proud of my guys.”
Both MSU teams will return to action on Nov. 13 for the NCAA South Regionals in Tuscaloosa.
For more information on the MSU cross country teams and the SEC Championships go to HailState.com and follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@HailStateTF).
Women's Team Results:
1. Arkansas 38; 2. Mississippi State 95; 3. Vanderbilt, 112; 4. Alabama, 143; 5. Ole Miss, 147; 6. Auburn, 164; 7. Florida, 183; 8. Missouri, 228; 9. Texas A&M, 249; 10. Georgia, 267; 11. Tennessee, 296; 12. Kentucky, 297; 13. South Carolina, 352; 14. LSU, 436
Medalists: Dominique Scott, 19:23.50
Mississippi State: 9. Marta Freitas, 20:14.20; 17. Cornelia Griesche, 20:26.40; 22. Rhianwedd Price, 20:33.80; 23. Lisa Ziegler, 20:35.70; 24. Mia Meydrich, 20:37.40; 32. Ffion Price, 20:51.20; 39. Shannon Fair, 21:01.80; 91. Antonia Hehr, 22:04.10
Men's Team Results:
1. Arkansas, 25; 2. Texas A&M, 98; 3. Ole Miss, 122; 4. Kentucky, 129; 5. Georgia, 142; 6. Missouri, 146; 7. Florida, 170; 8. Auburn, 198; 9. Alabama, 203; Mississippi State, 280; 11. Tennessee, 301; 12. LSU, 322; 13. Vanderbilt, 391
Medalists: A Kosegei, 23:24.10
Mississippi State: 29. Andrew Monaghan, 24:26.20; 32. Mathew Dunn, 24:35.20; 73. Branden Nosker, 25:18.70; 78. Curtis Kelly, 25:32.90; 92. Patrick Monaghan, 25:54.20; 94. Tristan Orman, 25:57.50; 102. Pierce Rose, 26:16.20
